Getting To Know You
by just-another-fan-account
Summary: Wasn't high school meant to be a time of making lifelong friends, finding love and having fun? So why does Yuki have to put up with the arrogant heartthrob, Sasuke Uchiha? He is the last man on earth she would be interested in. Well, that's what she keeps telling herself anyway.
1. Of Bad Mornings

**Hello everyone. I have uploaded this before but have had to make some changes in it, so here it is again, the revised addition. Please feel free to review and tell me what you think. Helpful criticism is most welcome if you have any.**

**Please enjoy the first chapter of my SasukexOc story. **

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The alarm played a dreadfully cheerful tune for so early in the morning, and Yuki fumbled, half asleep, to turn it off. She managed to drop her phone onto the floor and she groaned, having to reach down to retrieve it.

"Stupid damn alarm," the teenager grumbled, picking up her traitorous phone and finally managing to turn off the alarm. Sighing, she flopped back onto her bed, not at all ready to get up yet.

"Yuki," the girl's mother called from downstairs in the kitchen, jolting her awake. "Yuki, you'll be late for school again! Hurry up and get down here!"

Yuki rolled her eyes and slowly got out of bed, taking her time getting dressed and packing her schoolbag before dragging her feet to the kitchen table. She dumped her bag onto the counter and sunk into the chair, pulling her auburn hair into a ponytail. She covered her mouth as a loud yawn escaped.

Yuki's mother raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Really now Yuki. You're sixteen years old and you're already acting like an old man. Do I have to start giving you a bedtime curfew?"

"That's not fair!" the teenager wined, stifling yet another yawn. She blinked back the moisture from her eyes and rested her head on the counter. "I don't want to have this argument with you so early in the morning. You know I'm responsible, I just get carried away with my books sometimes." It wasn't like she _always_ stayed up late reading, and she honestly didn't mean to stay up reading until two this morning. Yuki shook her head, deciding not to voice this to her mother. _She might ban me from books for the foreseeable future._ She thought wryly.

Her mother just shook her head, exasperated. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast or you'll miss the bus again. And I'm not going to drive you to school again." She picked up the set of car keys on the bench and waved them at her daughter. "I have to go into work early so make sure you lock the door behind you. Have a good day at school, dear."

"Love you mum." Yuki called as she walked out the door. She decided on an apple for breakfast and made her way to the couch to watch some television while she waited for the bus.

It was about ten minutes later when the teenager heard the bus zoom past her house, while she was laughing at something stupid Team Rocket did on Pokemon. Yuki jumped up from her spot on the couch and raced to the window, cursing the fact that the bus driver had it out for her. He knew that she caught it every day, surely he could stop and wait for her to come out, stupid man!

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. Argh, I'm going to be late again!" Yuki cursed as she nabbed her schoolbag from the counter and raced out the door, locking it behind her. She debated whether to chase after the bus or walk to school but decided against the former. She didn't want to look like an idiot to her schoolmates by chasing the bus down. Yuki sighed, "Walking it is then."

It was a beautiful spring day outside and most other people would stop to admire the beauty of the flowers or the baby ducks waddling past, but Yuki was in a bad mood now that she'd missed the bus and she just stomped past the family of ducks, making them squawk and scuttle away in fear.

"This day is going to be just fantastic." The girl grumbled to herself sarcastically, not at all looking forward to the horrible day ahead of her.

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**I'll post the next chapter up within the next few days, so stay tuned. Don't worry, you'll get to see Sasuke soon! **

**R&R? I'll love you forever. xD Should I make the chapters bigger as well, or is this length suitable for you guys? This is my first full-length story that I'm posting so I'd be very happy to hear your thoughts. :)**


	2. Of Cows and Idiots

A half hour later—and a whole ten minutes after the bell had gone—Yuki walked into school and made her way to her first class of the day; maths. She knew that her teacher, Iruka-Sensei, would be mad at her but Yuki couldn't bring herself to really care. All she wanted to do was go home and crawl back into bed to sleep the day away.

"Good morning Iruka-Sensei," Yuki said cheerfully as she pulled the door open and stepped inside. "Sorry I'm late, the bus didn't see me standing on the sidewalk and went straight past me!" She laughed, hoping he wouldn't call bluff on her lie.

Iruka looked at the brunette teen sternly and tapped his foot against the ground in that I'm-so-not-happy-with-you-right-now way that all grownups seem to have mastered. "So nice of you to finally join us Yuki. Please sit down so I can continue my class."

"Yes sir!" She gave him a mock salute and made her way to her desk, which was luckily beside her best friend.

"Good morning Yuki," Hinata Hyuga said in that small, shy voice of hers. Yuki smiled brightly at her before laying her head on her desk. She was hoping to get some shut-eye before her next class. Maths was easy for her anyway, it didn't matter if she ignored one class of it.

"Yes Karin, did you want something?" Iruka asked the annoying red-head from the front of the classroom.

"Iruka-Sensei, Yuki totally just lied to you! She wasn't even outside her place when the bus went past." _That stupid tattletale. _Yuki lifted her head to glare at the cow behind her. Karin just smirked smugly back at her, making her fume.

Iruka trained his accusing eyes on the brunette, making her wince inwardly. Yuki liked Iruka-Sensei and didn't like getting in trouble by him. "Yuki, is this right? You weren't outside for the bus?"

The teen scratched the back of her neck, trying to think of something. "Uh, well no not _technically_ but I was on my way outside. The bus driver should have known that."

"It's your responsibility to be outside on time. The bus doesn't have time to waste sitting around waiting for you." Iruka scolded the girl, pulling out the dreaded pink slip from in his desk and writing on it. "Detention after school today for being tardy." He handed her the slip of paper and she gingerly took it, making a face at it as she scrunched it up and shoved it into her pants pocket. Yuki gave one last glare at the smug girl behind her before laying her head back onto her desk and zoning out for the rest of the class.

The bell rang for the next class and the brunette stood up, swinging your bag onto her back and making her way to the front door to wait for Hinata. Someone shoved her from behind and she went flying, smacking into the back of the school's heartthrob, Sasuke Uchiha. He turned to look at Yuki with a raised eyebrow but she ignored him, spinning around to face the culprit.

"You stupid pig! How dare you run into Sasuke like that?" Karin glowered, an evil glint in her eye.

"Why you little— I ought to knock that smug look off your face!" Yuki started towards the red-head, hell bent on revenge when she was suddenly tugged back by her schoolbag.

Yuki turned around to see Sasuke rolling his eyes, clearly annoyed. "Just ignore her Yuki." He muttered, "You don't want another detention slip, do you?"

"I think it'd be worth it to see those teeth knocked in." She replied heatedly, ready to finish what she had started.

Hinata rushed in and grabbed her by the arm. "Y-Yuki, just let it go. You know she only does this to get a rise out of you. W-We don't want to be late for Anko-Sensei's biology class." She tugged on her arm, finally managing to move her friend's frozen feet. "Come on."

Yuki looked back to glower at Karin and was surprised to find Sasuke smirking at her. Karin wrapped her arm around his and began to babble on about something, making him cringe. It was Yuki's turn to smirk as the Uchiha unsuccessfully tried to get his arm back from the girl and the brunette chuckled to yourself.

"What's so funny?" Hinata asked, looking at her friend questioningly.

She just shook your head, smiling. "Nothing. My day suddenly just started to get better.

* * *

At lunchtime Yuki sat with Hinata and her other best friend, Tenten, under the shade of a tree outside. The three girls couldn't be more different. Hinata was a shy, quiet girl who didn't talk to many people—heck, it took years before she could have conversations with Yuki without stuttering. Tenten was an amazing athlete who excelled at track and archery. The whole school loved her and Yuki often wondered why she hung out with her when she could easily fit in with the 'popular' crowd. Yuki, on the other hand, didn't do sports and would much rather read the day away. She wasn't shy but she was quiet, unless provoked by others—mainly Karin the Cow—and she found it hard to put up with loud, annoying people.

"Sakura~" Naruto Uzumaki—the brunette rolled her eyes. _Speaking of loud, annoying people_—yelled from the other side of the lunch area, calling to the pink haired girl sitting at a bench with her clique made up of her, Ino and—yuck—Karin. The loudmouth ran over to the table, grinning like the idiot he is. "Sakura, when are we going to get started on the project for Kakashi-Sensei? You can come to my place if you want." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Ew Naruto, no thank you." The pinkette replied, scrunching up her nose in distaste. "We can do it at the library here. I am _not_ going to your place." The blonde boy pouted, but didn't get a chance to say anything more as Karin and Ino started screeching.

"Sasuke, come sit over here with us!" Ino yelled at the raven haired boy as he sauntered past their bench, an apple in his hand.

"Don't be shy Sasuke." Karin chimed in, giggling in a way she must have thought was cute but really made her sound like a crazy person.

"No thanks," Sasuke replied, gliding past the table and continuing on to an empty tree near Yuki and her friends. He looked bored with them, and Yuki didn't blame him. It must be so tiring putting up with their nonsense every day. Honestly, she couldn't see the appeal to the young Uchiha. Sure, he was handsome, but he was arrogant, selfish, and rude. Not qualities the brunette found attractive.

"What do girls even see in him?" Yuki asked her friends, eyes trained on the figure now sitting down against the trunk of his tree. "He's such a jerk."

Tenten laughed. "Yeah, because you know him so well Yuki. Have you even _had _a conversation with him before?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and looked to Hinata for support, but as usual in this situation, she found none. She was pretending to ignore the conversation as she did every other week. Yuki turned back to Tenten. "No, but that doesn't mean he isn't a jerk. I see him around school. He thinks he's so high and mighty, superior to everyone else."

"Hey he can't be that bad if he hangs around with Naruto. The two have practically been inseparable since kindergarten."

"Whatever Tenten, you can't change my mind. He's an arrogant, conceited jerk and I for one will not be taken in by his looks." Yuki huffed and bit into her sandwich, glancing back around at the young teen only to find him smirking at her. Again. Yuki glared at the Uchiha teen, chewing her food almost violently before turning back to her friends. She was sure she imagined the soft chuckle that floated to her ears and sent a pleasant shiver up her spine.

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**Chapter two is complete! Please let me know what you think of the story so far. I love getting feedback so I know how to improve or what I am doing well. xx **


	3. Of Detentions and Sports

**Here's the third instalment of my Sasuke high school love story. Please review and tell me what you think of it so far. I would dearly love feedback! **

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The day dragged on but the end of school finally rolled around and Yuki reluctantly made her way to detention, a pout on her lips and feet practically dragging against the floor. As she opened the classroom door, a barrage of noise hit her ears.

"Kiba you stupid mutt, this is all your fault!" Naruto yelled as he faced off with the hot-tempered dog loving boy.

"The hell it is!" Kiba retorted, glaring at the blonde. "You started it!"

"Yeah and it looks like I'm going to finish it as well!" Naruto declared, getting ready to pounce.

"Just shut up and sit down, both of you." A voice sighed from behind them. Yuki craned her neck around Naruto and was surprised to see Sasuke sitting in one of the chairs, rubbing his temple in exasperation.

Naruto turned to look at the raven haired teen, a pout on his lips. "But Sasuke!"

Sasuke glanced up and pierced his friend with a dark look. "Sit. Down." The blonde teen reluctantly obeyed his friend, his pout deepening as he made his way to his desk.

"Ah, is this all there is today for detention?" Yuki turned her head to see Iruka standing behind her. "Naruto and Kiba. Here again eh? Well, that's no surprise. But I didn't expect to see you here Sasuke."

"Hn. I was trying to break these two idiots up but Yamato-Sensei decided to give me a slip as well." Sasuke replied. He really didn't look happy being there, and it made the brunette smirk a little.

Iruka clapped his hands together. "Right! Yuki, if you'd please go find a seat we'll then get started." He waited until she was sitting down before perching at the corner of his desk at the front of the room. "No phones during detention. If I see them I will confiscate them until the end of the week. You are to do your homework until I tell you to go."

Yuki raised her hand and Iruka motioned for her to speak. "Iruka-Sensei, I don't mean to sound rude but you do realise this is going to make me miss my bus, right? I got a detention for being late to class because I missed the bus. Isn't this kind of hypocritical?" _Ha. _She inwardly fist pumped herself for her smart thinking. _How is he going to reply to that?_

Iruka pinned the girl with a look. "No Yuki, it is not. You managed to walk to school fine, I'm sure you'll manage the walk home. Maybe this will help you to remember to be outside on time for the bus from now on." _So much for my smart reasoning_. Yuki pouted and rested her head on her desk. Maybe she could sleep the time away. "Yuki," Iruka warned. "Homework." The girl groaned but pulled out her equipment. The sooner she got it over with the better, she supposed.

Iruka finally dismissed the four of teens and Kiba and Naruto immediately raced out the door, pushing each other as they went. Yuki took your time in packing her schoolbag before standing up and saying goodbye to Iruka. Sasuke was already waiting at the door and he opened it for her, motioning for her to go through first.

Yuki glanced up at him as she passed, surprised by this thoughtfulness. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"Don't need to sound so excited." Sasuke retorted, smirking at the girl. He started walking beside her as she made her way to the front of the school.

"Sorry, was that not enthusiastic enough for you?" Yuki asked, looking up at him once again. She plastered on a fake grin and said in a fake, high-pitched voice, "Thank you so much Sasuke, you're so kind! Just let me swoon at your feet!" Yuki fluttered her eyelashes and pressed the back of her palm to her forehead dramatically.

Sasuke shook his head, chuckling. "That's going a bit too far, don't you think? Girls don't actually _swoon_ over me, do they?"

Yuki raised an eyebrow at him, ignoring the shiver coursing up her spine at the sound of his laugh. "You _know_ girls swoon over you. Don't play dumb."

"You don't." Sasuke stated, looking at the brunette pointedly.

Yuki smirked up at him before increasing her pace. "No, I'm not taken in by your handsome, mysterious ways. Besides, you're a… well, I just don't see what the big deal is."

"But you do think I'm handsome." Sasuke smirked.

"N-no, I never said that!" Yuki stuttered, flushing at her foolishness. _Did I really just say that?_

Sasuke's smirk widened at seeing her flustered. "I think you did."

The brunette glared at the Uchiha, marching forward to get away from him. "Whatever Sasuke, don't be so full of yourself! You're not that great." She made it outside and started towards the stairs, sighing. She _really_ didn't feel like walking home.

"Yuki," Sasuke called from behind her. "My brother is coming to pick me up. We can drop you home on the way."

Yuki turned to face him, still glaring. "Why would I want a lift from you? I don't like you!"

Sasuke's eyes pierced her. "Because I'm an arrogant, conceited jerk. Right?"

The brunette's eyes widened as she stared at him. Did he overhear the conversation she had with her friends at lunch? Why did Yuki feel bad knowing that Sasuke knows how she feels about him? And was that… hurt in his eyes? Why would he be hurt?

Yuki's eyes hardened, ignoring the guilt flowing through her. "What? Am I supposed to say sorry? You shouldn't be eavesdropping on other people's conversations."

"It's not eavesdropping when you're speaking loud enough for me to hear it clearly." He retorted, glaring back at the girl.

"Whatever." Yuki turned her back on him and started walking away. "I'm going home. Goodbye Sasuke." She forced herself not to turn back to look at him. Why did he have to look like at her like that? Surely she had imagined it_. Sasuke Uchiha would not care what I think of him. _So why did Yuki feel so guilty now?

* * *

The week passed slowly without any more encounters with the young Uchiha. Yuki still felt guilty over what he'd heard but she couldn't figure out why. So what if he knows that the brunette didn't like him? She shouldn't care. So why did she?

Friday rolled around, and with it the rain came. Sports was moved inside for the day and Yuki hoped Asuma-Sensei would be lenient and let her have a break from the class for once. Physical activity was not her forte.

"Oh come on Yuki," Tenten laughed as she changed into her sports clothes, her voice echoing in the girls' locker room. "Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. Where's your youthful spirit?"

"Augh, you sound like Gai-Sensei," Yuki groaned, begrudgingly changing her clothes as well. Hinata just smiled at her two friends and made her way out, already changed.

"Hurry up in there or you'll be doing laps around the auditorium!" Asuma called.

Yuki sighed, stuffing her feet into her running shoes. He was definitely not going to be lenient today. The brunette glanced at Tenten who was bouncing on the balls of her feet, grinning at her. "Ah, cheer up Yuki, you'll have fun." Making a face at her now retreating back, Yuki hurried to catch up with her.

"Right," Asuma boomed when everyone was out and standing in a straight line in front of him. "Because it's raining today and we can't go outside to play soccer, I've decided on something you should all enjoy inside. Dodgeball!" The whole class whooped at this, which hid Yuki's groan of disappointment. Dodgeball was _so _not fun_._ Not when you had people like Naruto, Kiba and Tenten in the class who took the game way too seriously. The last time Yuki played this she got a bruise on her back that lasted for two weeks!

"Shikamaru and Sasuke, you'll be team captains today." Yuki heard Shikamaru's grumble of 'this is such a drag' as they made their way to the teacher and she smiled. At least she wasn't the only one who disliked this class. Asuma held out a penny when the boys were next to him. "Alright, call it in the air Sasuke." Asuma flipped the coin and Sasuke chose heads. "Heads it is. Sasuke, you choose first."

Sasuke scanned the crowd, looking bored. "Naruto." He decided, looking at the blonde teen bouncing up and down as he waved his arms in the air. Naruto whooped and ran over to Sasuke, punching him lightly in the arm as he went to stand next to his friend.

"Tenten," Shikamaru sighed, not at all enthused about being team captain.

Yuki figured Sasuke would choose Kiba, seeing as though he and Naruto were two of the best at dodgeball, but she was surprised when his eyes stopped to focus on her. "Yuki,"

The brunette was shocked. She was never one of the first ones picked. Usually the brunette was one of the last as she had no natural talent at sport. Frowning, the teenager made her way to stand beside Naruto, ignoring his questions to Sasuke as to why he'd picked her.

The rest of the teams were picked one by one. At least Hinata was on Yuki's team, though she was probably worse at this game then the brunette was. She didn't like hitting anyone, even though it was the object of the game. As soon as the bell went off, Kiba pegged his ball at the poor girl, almost knocking her over.

Yuki turned to glare daggers at the mutt, furious. "What the hell Kiba?"

Kiba just grinned at her. "What? It's how the game goes. The weak get picked out first."

"You don't have to be so violent about it, you prick!" Yuki pegged her ball at his face with the intent of smashing his nose but he ducked away, laughing.

"Oi, calm down. It's just a game!" He chuckled.

"Oh, I'll give you 'it's just a game'." The brunette growled. "You are so going down for that!"

Yuki felt pumped now to play this game. She was going to take that mutt down no matter what! The opposing team's numbers quickly dwindled as Yuki and the others took them out and she smirked triumphantly when she managed to smack Karin between the shoulder blades.

"You're out Karin!" Asuma announced from the sidelines. Karin glared at Yuki but the brunette just grinned back, pleased with herself. Out of nowhere a ball came hurtling to her, only to be knocked away by another ball in mid-air. Yuki glanced over to see Sasuke, two more balls at the ready.

"Focus." He stated, before turning and lobbing a ball at Sakura.

Yuki huffed in annoyance before finding Kiba and sneaking up behind him to deliver the winning blow. She smiled to herself and lifted her ball to strike when Kiba ducked. She didn't have time to duck at the ball speeding towards her face.

The brunette's eyes widened, too late. "Oh sh—".

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**Gasp! What's going to happen? Stay tuned to find out! :D**

**Again, reviews are much loved. Thanks for reading! **


	4. Of Confusion and Crushes

**Thank you my dear readers for your reviews! I'm so happy to know you are enjoying this story so far. **

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Voices called the teenager back to consciousness and she struggled to open her eyes against the pain. Her head pounded and she had a feeling her nose was bleeding. Yuki really hoped it wasn't broken.

"Yuki, wake up." Asuma's voice sounded distant, but the brunette was finally able to open her eyes, focusing on the faces above her. "There you are. How are you feeling?" She noted that she was surrounded by her peers. Hinata and Tenten looked on anxiously from behind the circle that Asuma, Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke made. Kiba and Naruto looked concerned but Sasuke seemed angry. Furious actually. Why was he so mad?

"Sore, but I'm alright. Although it feels like my nose is broken." Yuki winced and struggled to sit up, taking another look at the faces around her. She frowned at the blonde teen. "Did you get hit in the face too Naruto?" She asked, looking at his black eye. He didn't have that before the game.

Naruto laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I didn't dodge in time."

"Sensei, she needs to go to the nurse." Sasuke stated, glaring at his friend before facing the teacher.

"Alright. Did you want to take her then, Sasuke?" Asuma replied, standing up to give the injured teen some room.

Yuki glanced up at her teacher. "Hinata can take me to the nurse Sensei. It's alright." She stood up but promptly became dizzy and started to tip over. Sasuke caught the brunette by the elbow and helped right her again, keeping his hand on her back in case she took another dive to the floor.

"You could have a concussion." Sasuke snapped. "Hinata won't be able to carry you to the nurse if you collapse."

Yuki looked at him, wide eyed. "You won't be carrying me either mister."

Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's go."

The injured teen trained pleading eyes on her teacher, willing him to let her go with Hinata. But Asuma shook his head. "He's right Yuki. Now hurry up and get to the nurse."

Yuki sighed, defeated, and started to walk towards the first-aid room. Sasuke kept pace beside her, his hand still on the small of her back. The brunette did well ignoring it for the first half a minute before she tried to shake him off, causing another rush of dizziness to her head.

She glared at the boy beside her. "You can let go of me you know." Sasuke didn't bother sparing her a glance, just kept walking. "Oi, did you hear me Uchiha? I said, I can walk without your—" Yuki swayed on her feet again, toppling to the floor, but Sasuke caught her and lifted her up into his arms. "Eh? Sasuke, put me down right now! I mean it, you're making me angry!"

"Shut up and stop wiggling." Sasuke looked down at the squirming girl, an unreadable expression on his face. "You hit your head too hard, you'll just keep collapsing. It can't be helped."

"Like hell it can't! Put. Me. Down!" Yuki's glare intensified and it took all of her willpower to stop from pummelling his chest.

"Stop it Yuki." Sasuke's voice sliced through the girl, hard and commanding, and she froze, looking at him with wide eyes. "Let someone look after you for once instead of being so stubborn."

"I don't need looking after." The brunette muttered, glancing away from him with a pout.

"Hn. Everybody needs looking after." The Uchiha replied quietly.

Yuki had never heard Sasuke talk like that before. He sounded so… sad. She gazed back up at his features, watching his downturned expression. Why was he so sad? Yuki suddenly had the strongest desire to reach out and touch his face.

"Sasuke," she whispered, reaching up to stroke his cheek. He looked at the girl in his arms, shocked by her actions. Yuki's eyes became heavy and she tried to fight off the sudden blackness engulfing her brain. "I'm sorry."

Yuki lost the battle and passed out, safely nestled in his arms.

* * *

The young Uchiha gazed at the brunette cradled against him, his chest tightening with some unknown feeling. He didn't know what had just happened, he only knew that he wanted her to do it again. Yuki's fingers trailing soft patterns against his cheek was the most soothing thing he had ever experienced. Sasuke let his eyes roam her features, eyes furrowing in anger at her bloodied nose. _That idiot. _He raged inwardly.

Sasuke knew that Yuki was different to most other girls in the school. She didn't fangirl over him like—shudder—Karin and her cohorts. She seemed almost to abhor him at times, though he didn't know why. They had never really talked much until recently and he had never done anything to offend her. So why would she hate him so much? _And why do you even care? _He asked himself. He knew the answer but was too scared—not that he would ever admit that out loud—to acknowledge it just yet.

The raven haired teen finally made it to the nurse's room and walked in, looking around for the nurse on duty. Shizune looked up from putting away some first-aid equipment and almost gasped.

"Oh dear, what happened?" She asked, walking over to him.

"She was hit in the head playing dodge ball." Sasuke replied, managing to keep the anger out of his voice.

"If she hit her head hard enough she might have a concussion. Put her on the bed for me." Shizune started getting the necessary supplies from cupboards before coming over to sit beside the injured teen. She glanced back up at the Uchiha, a smile on her lips. "It's alright, I'll look after her. You can go back to your class now."

Sasuke didn't want to go back to class. He wanted to stay with Yuki and make sure she was alright, but he didn't want to voice this to the nurse. Instead, he nodded his head and gave Yuki one last look before leaving, taking in her bloodied nose once again. Sasuke felt his fists clench at his sides and he made himself walk out of the room, reluctantly leaving Yuki behind. _I'm going to kill that blonde idiot! _

* * *

When Yuki woke up again, she was in the nurse's room. Her head ached and her throat was parched, but she didn't have the energy to ask someone for water.

"Yuki," the soft voice said, and the brunette opened her eyes to see Hinata sitting on a chair next to her. She handed her friend a glass of water with a straw. "Here, you should drink something."

Yuki took the drink, thanking her. She felt a bit better after draining the glass. "Did you get the rest of the period off to look after me?" She asked, noticing that her friend had both of their bags resting against the wall.

"School is over Yuki." Hinata replied, glancing around the room. "It finished almost an hour ago."

"What? But that means I've been out of it for hours!" It was already after school? She couldn't have been passed out for that long, surely!

"You've been sleeping for almost three hours." Hinata gave her friend a small smile. "I'm glad you're alright. The nurse said you had a mild concussion, but nothing serious."

Yuki sighed. "Man, I missed the bus. Now I have to walk home again." In her condition, she wasn't looking forward to that at all.

Hinata's smile brightened. "You don't have to walk home. Neji said that he will drive us home. Tenten is coming too, she is just getting work from the teachers for the subjects that you missed this afternoon so you won't be behind."

Yuki's eyes started to well up with tears, much to her surprise. She wasn't much of a crier. "You girls are the best. Thank you so much!"

"You better be planning on repaying us girlie!" Tenten exclaimed as she strode into the room, looking as graceful and beautiful as ever. She grinned. "Just kidding, glad you're better."

"Thanks,"

Tenten came and sat beside Hinata, her eyes widening. "Man you should have seen Sasuke after you got knocked out, he went beserk! Naruto was the one that hit you with the ball, and even though he was aiming for Kiba and it was an accident, Sasuke was furious. Punched Naruto right in the face and would have kept pummelling him if Asuma-Sensei hadn't held him back."

"Sasuke gave Naruto the black eye?" Yuki asked, completely surprised. "Why would he do that? They're best friends."

Tenten shrugged. "Who knows? Boys are weird. He seemed pretty protective of you though. Maybe he likes you." Tenten laughed at the look horrified look Yuki was giving her. "But enough about him, are you ready to go? Neji is waiting in his car for us." Her face lit up when she spoke of her crush. Hinata's cousin, Neji Hyuga, was one of the smartest boys in school and rivalled Tenten both academically and physically. They were both on the track team and Tenten pushed herself constantly, trying to get ahead of him. But despite her confidence and popularity, she couldn't get up the courage to tell him how she felt. "He doesn't even notice me," was what she always said when her friends asked her about it. "I don't want to get shot down in flames."

Yuki smiled at the two girls. "Guess we should go so Tenten can have her eye candy." She teased, laughing as Tenten's face went red. Hinata giggled but immediately stopped when Tenten glared at her.

Hinata helped the brunette out of the bed and the three friends made their way to the front of the school where Neji was waiting by his car. "Finally," He remarked as the three girls reached his car. "Shall we go?"

"Thank you for driving us home Neji." Hinata replied to her cousin. "I'm sorry you had to wait but we didn't want to wake Yuki up."

Neji looked over at Yuki, probably noting her bed hair and unkempt clothes. Yuki was too tired and sore to care though. "How are you feeling?"

"My head is throbbing but I'll be okay. I just want to go home and sleep." Yuki grinned sheepishly. Neji nodded in reply and walked to the driver's side of the car. Yuki noted how he glanced at Tenten before pulling his door open and climbing inside. She smirked. Yeah, he definitely liked her back. The brunette never would have guessed Neji of being the shy type. It seemed it was up to her and Hinata to bring these two together. Yuki glanced at Hinata and she smiled back knowingly. Yuki broke out into a grin. Yep, it looks like the two of them would be playing matchmaker.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! As always, please review. I love to know how you think I am going with it all. And let me know if you think I should do more of the story in Sasuke's POV. (I kind of just added his bit in at the last minute before posting)** **I'd be happy to oblige if you do. Stay tuned for the next chapter. :D**


	5. Of Bus Rides and Assignments

The weekend flew by and in a flash it was Monday again. Yuki's mother had hovered over her all weekend, worried that she might start showing signs of illness despite Yuki constantly telling her that she was fine. "I'm just worried about you dear." She would reply with a huff. The teenager would roll her eyes at her mother and give her a hug. "I know, but I'm fine, really. It was just a bump on the head." Her mother would be satisfied for the next hour until the brunette sneezed or blew her nose, then she'd be hovering over her once again. Needless to say, it was a _long_ weekend for the teenager.

Yuki sighed contentedly as she sat back against the bus, earphones in and music pounding. She loved her mum dearly but she could be such a worrywart. Well, Yuki supposed that she couldn't blame her. Not after what happened with dad…

"This seat taken?" Yuki opened her eyes, glad for the distraction. She didn't like where her thoughts were headed. Sasuke stood above her, waiting for her answer.

Unplugging one ear, she moved her bag off the aisle seat and let him sit down. "Your brother isn't taking you to school today?"

Sasuke shook his head, his eyebrows drawn. "No, he went back to college over the weekend."

"Oh. You'll miss him then. Especially now that you have to catch the bus again." Yuki tried to sound comforting but it was weird having a conversation with the young Uchiha. She'd never really interacted with him until recently.

"Yeah." The young teen replied. "But I'll be getting my permit tomorrow so this is my last day catching the bus." He looked over at the brunette suddenly, studying her face. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling much better. Mum worried about me all weekend but all I needed was some rest." She smiled at him, feeling a little awkward. Sasuke wasn't supposed to be concerned about her. He was supposed to be arrogant and selfish. Yuki didn't know how to handle this.

"Hn, that's good." Sasuke rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. Yuki didn't notice it before, but as she studied him now she realised that he looked exhausted. Bags were clearly visible under his eyes and his face didn't hold the same glow it usually did.

"Big weekend?" She asked before she could stop yourself. Yuki wasn't meant to care. But she were curious.

"I don't want to talk about it." Was his terse reply.

Yuki's concern turned to anger and she glared at the boy beside her. "Well sorry." She snapped sarcastically. "I'm only trying to be friendly here, no need to be a jerk about it." The girl huffed and turned to face the window, putting her earphone back in. Whatever, she could care less what he did over the weekend.

The bus finally made it to school and Yuki filed out, ignoring the boy beside her.

"Yuki, I'm sorry." Sasuke said, stopping her by the elbow so she was forced to look at him. "I just… I had a rough weekend and I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

What could have happened to make the ever-cool Sasuke look so down? Yuki felt herself deflate when she saw the pained expression cross the young Uchiha's face. "It's alright Sasuke. Sorry I snapped at you." Yuki smiled reassuringly. "Besides, you don't have to tell me. It's not like we're friends or anything."

Sasuke frowned and was about to say something when Yuki caught sight of Neji in the distance. Now was a good chance to start setting him up with Tenten.

"I have to go Sasuke. Cheer up, yeah?" The brunette rushed off before waiting for a reply. "Neji, wait up!" The Hyuga teen stopped and waited for her to catch up. "How's it going today?" Yuki was too engrossed in telling Neji how much of an amazing athlete Tenten was that she didn't notice the raven haired boy back at the bus stop glaring daggers their way.

* * *

"We totally nailed this assignment." Tenten exclaimed as the two girls filed into Kakashi-Sensei's English class after lunch. "Sensei is going to give us top marks for sure!"

"I'm just happy it's finally over. Hopefully he won't give us another one for a few weeks. But I'm glad you're in this class with me so I can team up with you. Poor Hinata is in Yamato-Sensei's class all by herself."

Tenten laughed. "She has Naruto in her class, remember, so she's fine."

Yuki nodded in agreement and handed Kakashi her and Tenten's assignment before taking her seat beside her friend. She stretched her arms over her head, yawning loudly. The brunette may have stayed up reading too late again last night. "That's true. And I know that you enjoy having Neji in this class."

Tenten blushed, hushing her friend. "Yuki, not so loud." She whispered. Yuki patted the air consolingly. She didn't want her friend to get flustered, even if it was funny.

"Right class, listen up." Kakashi announced from the front of the room, lifting his head momentarily from the novel he was reading. "Good job on your assignments everyone. But don't start to relax yet. I've got another one for you." The whole class groaned loudly. "And I know how much you kids like picking your own partners, but that won't be happening this time—" another groan, louder this time—"as I've picked the teams that will be working together. When you know who you'll be working with I want you to find them and sit beside them. That'll be your new seating arrangement for the remainder of this assignment."

This was not cool. Yuki didn't want to be parted from Tenten. Her friend got along with everyone in the class so she'd be fine with whomever was chosen as her partner, but Yuki would be put in an awkward situation, seeing as though she didn't tend to go out of her way to make many friends.

Kakashi was already calling out the people who would be working together and Yuki decided to pay attention. "…Tenten and Neji." She smiled at her athletic friend, glad she was partnered with her crush. This should make it easier for them to express their feelings to each other. Tenten looked back at her friend with a shy smile before breaking into a grin. Yep. She's happy alright. Kakashi droned on and Yuki's head snapped up when she heard her name. "Yuki and Sasuke."

Tenten's grin turned to a sympathetic look as Yuki tried to reign in her emotions. Seriously, Sasuke? Of all the people in the class, it had to be Sasuke. She sighed. Of course it did. She didn't know if she could cope spending that much time with the raven haired Uchiha. Yuki looked up at her classmates, glad Karin wasn't part of the class. The cow would skin her alive if she knew he was her partner.

Kakashi finished calling out names and told everyone to find their partner. Yuki vaguely noticed Tenten standing to find Neji but she couldn't bring yourself to find her own partner.

A bag was placed on the ground next to her and Sasuke slid into the seat Tenten had just vacated. Yuki looked over at him and gave him her biggest, fakest smile, deciding that it would be for the best to try and get along with him. "Let's do our best together, okay?" Sasuke gave the brunette a sideways glance, grunting a response. Yuki resisted the urge to glare at him—she was trying to be friendly and what did he do? Practically ignored her, that's what! Well, two could be like that! Yuki sat back in her chair, arms crossed and mouth pinched together in a scowl. _Stupid Uchiha. Your mood swings are worse than a woman's. _She grumbled inwardly.

Kakashi stood up and closed his book, facing the class once again. "Your assignment is this: You are to watch, study and identify what you believe is the primary theme from the story 'Pride and Prejudice'. Working as a team I want you to come up with a report as to what you think the main message of the movie is. I want you to tell me about the main qualities seen in the movie and how the characters were able to develop. We'll be watching the movie for the rest of this class and tomorrow's class, then I expect you to do your own research outside of class times. You have one month to complete this assignment. Now sit back and enjoy." Kakashi flicked the television on and sat back down at his desk, feet up and face already back into his book.

Yuki suppressed a groan. They weren't getting any class time to do this assignment so that meant that she'd have to meet up with Sasuke outside of school hours to do it together. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, wincing when she noticed him glaring at the TV screen. This was not going to be a pleasant month.

* * *

**Thank you once again for reading! I think this chapter might be a little shorter than usual, so I apologise for that. I was going to choose 'Romeo and Juliet' for the assignment topic but decided on 'Pride and Prejudice' instead. It seems to fit these two characters better.**

**As always, reviews are loved! ^_^**


	6. Of Drama, Jealousy and Contentment

**You asked for it so here it is—the new chapter. Enjoy~!**

* * *

Yuki talked to Hinata about her new assignment partner in the last class of the day—Guy-Sensei's Drama class—while they were sitting on the floor in front of him.

"Maybe it will be a good opportunity for you to get to know him a little better." Hinata reasoned, smiling hopefully at her friend.

The brunette rolled her eyes at Hinata. "Tch, you're just happy because you got partnered up with Naruto. Did everyone get a partner they wanted except me?" Yuki groaned and placed her head on the floor in front of her.

Hinata patted her friend on the back softly. "If it makes you feel any better, Karin was paired up with Suigetsu. You know how much she doesn't like him."

Yuki's head shot up off the floor and she grinned at her friend. "That's wonderful news! Serves her right for being such a cow to everybody. Now she's going to have to put up with him for a month." Yuki chuckled to herself. This was the only good news that had come out of the whole endeavour, and she was going to savour it.

Guy was talking animatedly at the front of the class, swinging his arms around wildly as he expressed himself. Only Lee—Guy's favourite student—was paying attention, and he wrote in his notepad everything Guy was saying.

"Tell me again why we chose drama as a subject?" Yuki asked her lavender eyed friend, wincing as Guy began stomping around the room, re-enacting something that happened to him that weekend.

"You thought it would be an easy class to pass. And I thought it would help me get over my shyness a little."

"Ah that's right. In the future Hinata, don't ever let me do something like that again. This teacher is way too much for me to handle."

Hinata giggled softly. "He's okay. He is just very spirited. I like that."

Yuki raised an eyebrow her way. "Of course you do. Anyway, what am I going to do about Sasuke? I told him that I had something to do this afternoon so I couldn't make it to start going over our assignment. I'm going to walk home in case he catches the bus this afternoon and I get stuck sitting next to him again." Yuki really didn't know if she could handle spending so much of her free time with the raven haired teen.

"I thought the two of you were starting to get along." Hinata stated, looking at her friend questioningly.

"Pfft, as if. Every time I think we're making progress he just goes and does something that makes me want to punch him in the face. He's a jerk and he always will be. Anything else is just a façade."

Guy stopped moving and glanced around the classroom. "Alright!" He boomed. "Everyone choose a partner! We're going to have an acting competition! The winners will get to do an exciting skit with me in front of the school during our next parade!" Guy clapped his hands, signalling everyone to get moving.

Yuki stood up, helping up Hinata and moving to their designated spot. This was a weekly occurrence and both she and Hinata had silently agreed to do badly so they wouldn't have to join Guy on one of his crazy shows. They were intense and ridiculous and the only other person to enjoy them was Lee.

Lee and his partner, a very reluctant and quiet Shino, got into place in front of the two girls. Lee gave them a thumbs up and grinned, telling them to give it their all.

Guy shouted from the front of the room. "Okay, in position everyone. And… Start!"

* * *

Yuki knew there was no avoiding the young Uchiha the next day when she walked into Kakashi-Sensei's English class. After they finished watching the movie in class she would have to make time to spend with Sasuke, whether on her lunchbreaks or outside of school—neither of which appealed to her. She sat down at her designated seat and decided to take a nap since she was early for once. A body suddenly plopped down beside her but she ignored it, her head safely burrowed in the crook of her arms. She didn't want to talk to—let alone look at—her partner right now.

Five minutes after everyone had filed in and the class was meant to start, Kakashi finally ambled through the door, his perverted book in hand. "Sorry I'm late class. I got held up helping one of the teacher aides."

"Liar," someone mumbled from the back of the classroom, receiving a piece of chalk to the forehead for their trouble.

Kakashi went on cheerfully. "Today we'll finish watching 'Pride and Prejudice'. Then if we have time you'll start brainstorming your idea with your partner. Remember you won't be getting any class time to do this assignment so you need to make sure you do it in your own time. Got it? Good." With that the silver haired teacher flicked the movie on and sat back at his desk, effectively ignoring the class as he began to read.

The movie was interesting, Yuki admitted to herself. The two main characters both thought the worst of each other without even knowing each other. Mr. Darcy came off as a pompous jerk and that's what the protagonist thought of him. Elizabeth's family was poor and unruly, so Mr. Darcy thought her beneath him. But what on earth was she meant to get out of it? Why have an assignment on such a movie?

"That was a waste of time." The brunette muttered darkly. "What's the point of this assignment anyway, it's so stupid. I seriously don't want to be here right now."

"I'm sorry to be such a disappointing partner. Would you have preferred Neji to be your partner?" The raven haired Uchiha asked sourly.

The brunette gave her schoolmate an incredulous look. "What? Why would I want to be partnered with Neji?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow accusingly. "So you aren't jealous that Tenten was chosen to be his partner instead of you?"

"What the hell are you talking about Sasuke? Why on earth would I be jealous?"

Sasuke gave Yuki a frank look. "Because you like him."

Yuki tried—and failed—to contain her fit of laughter. "You think that I," she stopped, laughing again at the thought. "You think that I like Neji? Where in the world did you get that idea from?"

The young Uchiha glared at the giggling brunette, as if this was her fault. "You have been going out of your way recently to talk with him." He stated matter-of-factly.

"That's because," Yuki wiped the tears from her eyes, finally managing to reign in her reaction. "I've been trying to set him up with Tenten, you idiot. They like each other but are both too shy to say anything, so Hinata and I have been trying to help them out."

"So you're helping out your friend. You don't like Hyuga?"

"No! I don't like Neji. I don't see why you would care anyway." She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

Sasuke glared back at her. "I don't."

Yuki scoffed in response but decided to let it go. "Whatever Mr. High and Mighty. So what are we going to do with this ridiculous assignment of ours?"

The bell rang, signalling the end of class. Sasuke sighed and closed his notebook, tucking it neatly into his backpack. "Why don't we meet after school to go through the details? There's a café a few blocks from school."

Yuki didn't want to go to a café with Sasuke after school but the thought of hot chocolates and muffins had her nodding her head. "Fine, we can meet there at say, four thirty?"

Sasuke stood up from his desk and threw his bag over his shoulder. "Alright. See you this afternoon then." He gave her a nod before walking away. Yuki slowly packed up her things, confused as to why she suddenly felt excited for this afternoon. _It must be because of the muffins._ She told herself. _I've always been a sucker for that café's blueberry muffins. _

What else could it be? It definitely didn't have something to do with a raven haired, obsidian eyed classmate of hers that was for sure. _Yes,_ she decided. _Definitely the muffins._

* * *

Yuki pushed open the café doors, breathing in the beautiful scent of coffee and deliciously baked sweets. She was ten minutes early and she decided to get herself a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin to eat while she waited. She found a seat by the window and pulled out her English notebook, taking a sip of her delicious drink. She wanted to start getting some ideas together before her partner showed up, in case they fought the whole time and didn't get any work done.

Sasuke walked in the door just as Yuki was cutting the muffin in half, inhaling its heavenly scent. She looked up and found the young Uchiha watching her with an amused smirk. She poked her tongue out at him childishly before taking a bite.

"Sorry I'm a little late," the Uchiha said, taking the seat opposite Yuki. "I had…something going on." The brunette glanced up at him, hearing the strain in his voice. His eyebrows were drawn again and his mouth had formed a worried frown. He was gazing at something in the distant, seemingly lost in thought.

"Is everything alright?" Yuki asked.

"Hm?" Sasuke turned his eyes upon the young female with surprise, like he had forgotten she was there. "Yes, everything is fine." He stated in an unconvincing voice. But he gave her a look that told her not to press the issue, so Yuki didn't ask again.

"Here," she didn't know why she did it—he just looked so stressed and sad—but Yuki passed the other half of her muffin to Sasuke, ignoring her own inner protests at the action.

The young Uchiha gave her a suspicious look. "Why are you giving this to me?"

Yuki shrugged. "Because I wanted to. Blueberry muffins always make me feel better, especially if I'm having a bad day. For me they're even better than chocolate." She finished with a grin.

Sasuke smirked at that, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks." He said, taking a small bite of his half.

"So," the brunette dragged the word out. "Pride and Prejudice, huh? Where do we start?"

"Kakashi-Sensei said we have to write a report on what we as partners think the main theme of the movie is. Any ideas?"

Yuki scratched her head in thought and took another sip of her drink. "Well I sort of got out of it that we shouldn't take someone at face value—that we need to get to know them before we can form an opinion of them. Like with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, they both had preconceived notions of each other before they even really talked to one another. If they hadn't been so judgemental to start with they may have gotten their happy ending a lot sooner." Yuki noticed Sasuke watching her with a funny look and she flushed slightly, shrugging. "That's what I think anyway."

"I like that idea. I hadn't thought of that. I thought more along the lines of family. Like how both the main characters families were self-obsessed, inconsiderate and quite rude. So no matter who we are, we can have families like that and we have to do our best to put up with it."

Yuki raised her eyebrow at the raven haired boy. "Wow Sasuke. That's kind of morbid, you know. I know Elizabeth's family, her mother especially, seemed rude and inconsiderate but she did have her good points. She wanted her girls to find husbands that would be able to look after them. But I suppose I can see where you are coming from. I think though, that the families, despite their bad traits, really did want what was best for each other. Maybe not all of them—Kitty was very selfish—but at least a couple of the family members—Lizzie's dad and elder sister, and Mr. Darcy's sister—really wanted the best for each other."

The young Uchiha just rolled his eyes. "Sometimes it's hard to see who in your family really cares for you." He mumbled.

The brunette blinked in shock, not really knowing if she should reply to that. Was something happening in Sasuke's family life? She didn't know much about his family—only that he had an elder brother and that the family was quite rich—but she always figured they were close. At least him and his brother anyway. She didn't want to be rude and pry into his personal life though so she let it slide.

"Alright," Yuki said cheerfully, "so we have two different themes we can go with. What do you think we should choose?"

Sasuke shrugged a shoulder uncaringly as he picked at his half of the muffin. "I don't care. We can go with your choice if you'd like, it sounds a better idea than mine at the moment."

Yuki nodded, writing the theme down in her notebook. "Great, we got our theme down. Now to start writing the report." She groaned. "I hate reports."

"We'll do fine." Sasuke reassured. "We just have to make time to do it together. We should probably exchange numbers I suppose. To make it easier."

"Sure," Yuki was surprised by how easily the pair were getting along and decided it wouldn't hurt to have Sasuke's cell number in case she needed to contact him. They switched phones and dialled in their numbers before giving them back. "So do you want to call it a day then? We've made some nice progress today."

Sasuke looked reluctant but nodded his head. "Alright. How are you getting home?"

"I'll walk home. I seem to be doing that an awful lot lately." Yuki replied, making a face.

Sasuke looked out the window and frowned. "It's getting dark out there now. You shouldn't walk home. I can drive you home if you'd like."

"No it's ok. I'm happy to walk home." Sasuke was just full of surprises tonight and Yuki didn't know how to handle it. Have him drive her home? She should be hating that idea, shouldn't she? So why did the thought send a sudden thrill through her?

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the brunette. "Let me rephrase that. I'm not going to let you walk home at this time of night. It's too dangerous. I'll drive you home."

Yuki held up her hands in surrender, chuckling lightly. "Alright then, in that case I suppose you've left me no choice. Are you sure it isn't too far out of your way?"

"It's fine." Sasuke started packing his bag again, standing up to leave. Yuki followed suit, suddenly feeling nervous for the drive home.

They stopped at a black new shiny Ute, confirming what she already knew about his family's financial means. "Nice wheels." She commented lightly. Sasuke grunted and opened the passenger door for Yuki to get in. "Uh, thank you." This earned another grunt from the suddenly moody Uchiha.

The ride home was quiet, save for the soft music playing in the background. Yuki felt the need to say something but she sensed that Sasuke wasn't in the mood to talk. _Boy, he has mood swings worse than a woman does._ She mused to herself, chuckling.

They eventually reached Yuki's house and Sasuke pulled over. He looked at her, opening his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again. He did this once more and gave her a frustrated look, though Yuki assumed he was more frustrated at himself than at her. "Thanks for the muffin." He finally said.

Yuki smiled. "No problem. Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Yuki waved as she walked into her house. She said a quick hello to her mother who was watching television in the lounge and ran up to her room, shutting the door behind her. For the rest of the night all Yuki could think about was what Sasuke wanted to say in the car. _Oh well, I'll see him tomorrow anyway, maybe I can ask him then. _She finally decided, her heart skipping a beat. She chose to ignore it, not at all ready to acknowledge what it could mean.

* * *

**There you go. How was it? A bit more exciting than the last chapter, I'm sure. XD It might take me a few days to update, so please bear with me. **

**As always, reviews are loved. How did you find their interactions within the chapter? I love feedback! Oh and sorry if the assignment seems a little weird. I don't really know how Japanese school systems work (or even American ones) so I'm kind of just winging it. ^_^" But don't worry, I won't put too much up about the assignment. **

**Thanks for reading~ :D**


	7. Of Girl Talk and Nights Out

**Sorry to make you wait guys. Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"How is your English assignment with Neji going ?" Yuki asked Tenten the next day as the three girls sat around the base of their tree at lunch time. She wiggled her eyebrows, eliciting a blush from her athletic friend.

"We just started it yesterday after school but I think we'll do well." She replied.

Yuki rolled her eyes. "You do realise that told me nothing. Has there been any declarations of love and affection yet?"

"Yuki!" Tenten leaned forward to slap her hand over the grinning girl's mouth. "Neji doesn't like me like that. I'm just happy that I can spend the month with him." Even as she said this a forlorn look came over her.

"Oh hogwash. I bet by the end of this month that you two will be together. The more time you spend with him the more relaxed you'll become. I mean, you two have so much in common as it is—you're both smart, athletic and popular—so you should have no trouble talking to each other."

Tenten just blushed harder, making Yuki wonder if something had already happened between them. Before she was able to ask about it, Tenten had turned the tables on her. "What about you Yuki? How was your study session with Sasuke yesterday afternoon?"

The brunette smiled, determined not to fall for the bait. "Actually it went well. We have our idea ready for the report, we just need to start on it now. I don't know why Kakashi-Sensei has given us a whole month to complete it—it seems so easy."

Tenten shrugged. "Who knows? But Yamato-Sensei is doing the same assignment with the same time period, isn't he Hinata?"

"Yes." Hinata spoke up for the first time, a small blush touching her cheeks as she gazed to where Naruto was sitting with Sasuke, gesturing wildly as he talked.

Yuki looked at Tenten with a raised eyebrow before looking at the young Hyuga. "And how has _your_ assignment been going with a certain blonde that shall remain nameless, hm?" The blunette's eyes widened, her blush deepening.

"Don't turn the conversation onto Hinata. We were asking you about Sasuke." Tenten said, giving Yuki a stern you-can't-get-out-of-it-that-easily look.

"Hey, you started it. Besides, there isn't much to tell. We did our assignment and he drove me home. The end." Yuki shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Wait, what? He drove you home? And you didn't kill him? This I've got to hear!" Tenten sat up straighter, waiting for the scoop. Even Hinata stopped gazing at her crush, eager to hear her friend's story.

Yuki patted the air, trying to calm her friends. "Really guys, there isn't much to tell. I was going to walk home but Sasuke offered a ride."

"I'm still waiting for the part where you try to snap his neck for offering you a ride home." Tenten mused.

Yuki sent her a glare. "It was dark so I accepted his offer. Nothing happened. He was actually pretty moody on the drive home." She frowned. "I'm not really that mean to him, am I?"

"You do snap at him a lot." Hinata said quietly, giving Yuki an apologetic look.

Yuki let her gaze wander until it reached the raven haired Uchiha. Was she really that mean to him? She had always disliked him because of his arrogance and selfishness but they usually stayed out of each other's way. It had only been recently that Yuki had been seeing more and more of him. And, if she were to admit it, Sasuke hadn't acted as arrogant as usual lately. _Or maybe you're just getting to know him better. _A voice chided in her head.

The brunette sighed, a headache coming on. _Maybe I should be nicer to him from now on. _She thought. _Maybe I should—_a loud voice called out, breaking her thoughts. Her eyes came back into focus and she realised she had been staring at Sasuke—the same Sasuke that was now walking towards her, Naruto in tow as he waved an enthusiastic hand at Hinata—and the Uchiha was watching her with a raised eyebrow. Yuki ducked her head, cheeks flaming from having been caught staring.

"Hey girls!" Naruto practically yelled as the two teenagers made their way to the group. Naruto dumped himself beside Hinata, causing her to squeak, her cheeks reddening. "So Hinata, I was wondering if we could do some of our assignment together this afternoon, if you aren't busy."

Yuki could feel Sasuke's eyes on her but she refused to look up at him. She listened as Hinata stuttered a confirmation that they could do their assignment at the library that afternoon—Yuki wondered just where Naruto's work enthusiasm was coming from—and felt a body sit down beside her.

Sasuke bumped his shoulder against Yuki's to get her attention. She willed herself to look at him and found that he was frowning at her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just dandy." She smiled at him, though she was afraid it came out more as a grimace. She suddenly didn't know how to talk to the Uchiha. It was true that the pair had a good conversation yesterday at the café but that was because Yuki had sensed he was upset and didn't want to make him feel worse. Why she had wanted to cheer him up she didn't know. But now, if she wasn't arguing with the Uchiha, how was she meant to talk to him?

Sasuke was still looking at her with a confused yet concerned expression. "Should we do some more of our assignment this afternoon?" He asked.

Yuki blinked, coming back to the present. "Um, sorry Sasuke. I really can't this afternoon. My mum wants to have some quality mother-daughter time so she's taking me shopping." Yuki replied, grimacing slightly. She loved her mother dearly but shopping with her could get a little… extreme, to say the least.

"Sure. Maybe tomorrow then." Sasuke looked disappointed and Yuki's heart twisted unexpectedly in her chest.

She smiled encouragingly at the Uchiha. "Yeah, tomorrow will be fine."

"Oh yeah! We're getting a few people together for bowling on Saturday night." Naruto said excitedly. "You girls should come along." He sent a grin—was it her imagination, or did it look a little shy?—in Hinata's direction, causing her already flamed cheeks to darken. _Poor girl,_ Yuki mused. _She'll be permanently red by the end of the month if this keeps up._

Yuki smiled at the blonde, surprising herself. She would normally be frustrated by his loudness. "That sounds like fun. Do you think you could invite Neji?" Sasuke tensed beside her and Tenten let out a shocked gasp. Yuki sent her a sly grin and winked at her, ignoring her inaudible protests.

"Sure!" Naruto's grin seemed to falter as he looked at Sasuke. Yuki glanced sidelong at the Uchiha, only to see him glaring at his blonde friend. She nudged Sasuke and sent him a glare of her own, nodding her head in Tenten's direction. She was biting her lip nervously, a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks.

Sasuke glanced at Tenten before his eyes found Yuki's again. Her eyebrow was raised, daring him to say something. Sasuke shrugged, smirking at the brunette. Even though he was in the wrong, he didn't act like he was sorry—though, Yuki supposed, he was probably too arrogant to even know how to look sheepish. She sighed. There she went again, accusing him of being arrogant. She needed to stop doing that. She looked up, scanning the sea of students until she locked onto a pair of red eyes glaring daggers at her. _If looks could kill_ she thought, glaring back at Karin. Karin's glare turned darker, her eyes promising revenge. Yuki wasn't normally intimidated by other people—especially not Karin the Cow—but that look Karin was giving her suddenly made Yuki nervous.

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventfully, to Yuki's relief —she had been worrying about Karin all week, wondering what evil tricks the red head would play on her—and Saturday night rolled around quicker than usual. Yuki was surprisingly excited to go bowling, seeing as though she only really did things with Hinata and Tenten. She told herself it wasn't because Sasuke was going to be there. No way was she excited to spend some more time with the raven haired Uchiha. They had met up after school on Thursday and Friday and had made some more progress on the report for their English class, but Yuki hadn't known how to handle him after Hinata's comment. She wasn't being herself, afraid that 'herself' might snap at him. She had been reserved and only spoke up to answer his questions about the report, or to add something she wanted to include in it. Sasuke had given her confused—more like frustrated—looks but didn't comment on it, which she silently thanked him for. But Yuki was determined to be herself around him tonight. _Just treat him like one of the girls._ She told herself.

A horn honked in the driveway and Yuki gave herself a once over in the mirror. She had chosen to wear dark navy skinny jeans with a spaghetti strapped black top and a cute leather jacket with ruffles. She wore black boots that reached to just below her knees. Her fringe was pinned back and the rest of her hair was lightly curled over her left shoulder. She glanced at her make-up and nodded. She had gone the basics—she didn't want to dress up too much—and had chosen to just wear some foundation and a little bit of mascara. She quickly put on some lip gloss before grabbing her handbag and running downstairs.

"Bye mum!" She called, not waiting for a reply as she rushed out the door. Sasuke was in the driver's seat and she could make out her two girlfriends in the back. She groaned, butterflies suddenly doing flips in her tummy. Of course they left the front seat for her. Yuki tried to shoo the cursed butterflies away but they seemed to multiply as she made her way to the car. She contemplated sitting in the back with the girls but decided against it. Obviously they had done this on purpose.

Resisting the urge to send her friends a frosty glare, Yuki opened the passenger door and climbed up into the jeep. "Good evening everyone. Where's Naruto?"

"He'll meet us there. He wanted to take his bike tonight." Sasuke replied, looking over at her as he pulled out of the driveway. _One of the girls, one of the girls_ she chanted in her head, trying to think of a reply.

"Nice. Maybe I could ask him if I could have a go. I do like motorbikes." At Sasuke's dark look Yuki decided it would be impossible to talk to him like one of the girls, especially if he was going to be moody at everything she said.

"It looks so scary though." Hinata piped up from the back, her hands twirling nervously around each other. She was even more recluse than Yuki, and Yuki couldn't help but feel proud at her friend for coming tonight.

Yuki shook her head. "Na. I think it looks awfully fun. I don't think I would be able to ride one myself—I'd probably fall off and break something—but I'd love to be on the back of one." Was it weird that she thought it would be peaceful, whereas most girls would think it dangerous and scary?

"You're not getting on with Naruto." Sasuke had stopped at a light and used this time to give her a stern look.

"What, is he too reckless or something? I'm sure if he had a girl with him he'd slow down." Yuki really wanted to bite back with a 'don't tell me what to do, jerk' but decided that might be a bit too mean. _So what if it's mean?_ Yuki thought to herself._He's being a complete jerk right now. Why did I start thinking that he wasn't as arrogant as I had suspected? He's still the same._ She pouted at the thought but it excited her too. This was the only way she knew how to talk to the Uchiha, through verbal insults. If he didn't like it then he could stop being a jerk. Maybe he was trying to bait her. _Well,_ she decided, _next time I'll definitely bite._ She gave him a grin with which he responded with a quirked eyebrow.

"No, he's quite sensible with his bike. He has to be or else his parents will take it off of him until he graduates."

Yuki gave him a questioning look. "So what's the problem then?"

Sasuke looked like he was going to answer but after a quick glance at the two passengers in the back—both looking a little too eager to hear what would be said next—he decided against it. Instead he announced, "We're here."

* * *

Sasuke got out of the car, knowing he was being cowardly. How was he supposed to reply to that though? He couldn't just say "I don't like the thought of you riding on the back of a bike with someone that isn't me", especially not with Yuki's friends looking on. He did not want to look possessive and petty. Besides, he had no right to be possessive of her, seeing as though they weren't together—hell, they were barely even friends—but the thought of her with her arms wrapped around Naruto on the back of his bike made him furious. Never mind that Naruto was his best friend and Sasuke knew he'd never do anything towards her. Just the thought of Yuki with the blonde—with _anyone_ for that matter—made his blood boil.

The girls were getting out of the car and Sasuke turned his back to them in order to compose himself. After he got his anger in check, the Uchiha turned back to the trio and led the way inside the building. He had to admit that he was looking forward to spending time with the brunette in a public, group setting. He just hoped Naruto hadn't invited his red haired cousin along, although he had no doubt invited Sakura which meant Karin would be there even without an invitation. But as long as he could keep Yuki away from the red head, the night should go off without a hitch.

Sasuke sighed to himself. _As if it's ever that easy._

* * *

**So, what did you think? Reviews make my heart happy and I love hearing from my loyal readers! **

**Thanks for reading~**


	8. Of Bowling and Bitches

**The long awaited (but not really) chapter is here! How will Yuki and the girls cope going bowling with their classmates? You have to read to find out! XD**

* * *

The place was packed, though it shouldn't have surprised Yuki, it being a Saturday night and all. Still, Yuki felt a little flutter of unease in her stomach and she bit her lip nervously. She looked behind her and found Hinata biting her own lip. She would feel even more out of place here than Yuki did. The brunette reached back and grabbed hold of her friend's hand, giving her an encouraging smile. Tenten took the Hyuga's other hand and together, the three of them followed behind Sasuke as he weaved his way towards the group waiting for them.

_This shouldn't be too bad._ Yuki told herself, steeling her nerves. _They're just people from school. I know them all. As long as _she _isn't here—_

"Sasuke! Sasuke, sit next to me!" Yuki suddenly felt ill. That voice belonged to none other than Karin the Cow. She fought the urge to run back to the exit like a coward. Ever since Karin saw her sitting with Sasuke the other day, Yuki had been constantly looking over her shoulder in case Karin tried to do something to humiliate her. But now… Now they were in a public setting so surely she wouldn't do anything here, right? _Just keep telling yourself that, maybe it'll make you feel better._

Sasuke ignored the red head and instead found the furthest booth away from her, taking a seat next to Kiba who was—unsuccessfully—trying to flirt with Ino. He looked up at the brunette and motioned the trio to sit with him.

"Thank you," Yuki murmured as she took the seat beside him, her heart still constricting in her chest.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, seemingly uninterested.

Before she could ask him what was stuck up his behind this time, Neji walked through the door. She waved him over, grinning. "Neji! We're so glad you could make it. Here, take this seat." Yuki stood up from her seat and let Neji take it. Tenten, who was on the other side of Yuki, blushed beat red as Neji sat down.

The brunette gave her friend a wink before looking around for another spot to sit. _Maybe I didn't think this through_. She thought glumly, realizing that the only other available seat was beside Karin, who was openly glaring daggers at her. Before she could build up the courage to walk towards Karin and those deadly eye daggers—seriously, _when _had Yuki become such a coward when it came to that red headed cow?—a hand grabbed hold of her wrist, pulling her backwards.

"Gah!" Yuki fell backwards onto the couch, landing beside Sasuke who gave her an annoyed look.

"Oi Sasuke, what was that for?" Kiba growled from his place on the floor, rubbing his red cheek as a flushing Ino glowered at him.

Sasuke shrugged. "You wouldn't move over."

"More like I _couldn't _move over. Sheesh! You didn't have to push me into Ino."

"Well _you_ didn't have to brace yourself on my chest, you pervert!" The blonde shrieked in outrage.

Kiba grinned wolfishly. "That part I didn't mind." He winked at the flushing blonde which earned him another slap to the face.

Naruto finally called the group to attention. He had to yell in order to be heard above Ino's shrill cries. Eventually though, the blonde ceased in her deadly threats of unmanning the dog-boy and turned her head to listen.

"It's great to see everyone was able to make it." Naruto said, grinning. "Teams have already been divided up."

Lights came on above their heads, illuminating the two teams. Yuki's heart sank. _Why does this always happen to me?_ She thought bitterly. _Of course Karin has to be on my team. _Also on Yuki's team were Tenten, Neji and Sasuke. Naruto's team consisted of him, Hinata, Kiba, Ino and Sakura.

Yuki sent Hinata an encouraging smile. It was too dark to tell, but Yuki knew her friend's face was a dark crimson with the knowledge of being on the same team as her crush. Yuki turned her head to look at Sasuke, only to find him scowling darkly at his blonde friend.

"You alright Sasuke?" She asked, placing her hand lightly on his forearm.

Sasuke turned his glower on her before looking down at the hand on his arm. His face softened and he nodded. "Fine."

"Right!" Naruto made his way over to his lane and picked up a bright orange bowling ball. He got a strike on the first go whooped excitedly. After doing a little dance the blonde teen swaggered back to his seat, grinning triumphantly.

One by one, everyone got up and had their turn. Hinata was so nervous that the ball almost fell out of her hand she was shaking so much. Naruto jumped up to help her, showing her where to put her fingers and how to throw it properly. With his help she managed to knock down four pins. Kiba sauntered up to the lane and winked at Ino before taking his shot. The ball landed in the gutter and everyone laughed. He knocked down seven pins on his next shot though, redeeming himself a little. Karin and Sakura both smiled flirtatiously at Sasuke before taking their shots and Yuki's heart sank even further at realising that they were both pretty good at the game.

Finally it was Yuki's turn and she made her way to her lane, swallowing nervously. She'd never been bowling before and she felt self-conscious to start with all these people watching. She picked up a ball, putting her fingers where she saw everyone put them and—taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves—tried to mimic how they had thrown the ball.

"What the hell was that?" Karin busted out laughing when Yuki's ball went straight to the gutter. The brunette blushed, embarrassed. She heard her two friends call out words of encouragement to her but she didn't take them in. She was angry at Karin for laughing at her but she was also embarrassed at herself. _I shouldn't have come. _

A hand touched the small of her back and she turned to see Sasuke standing beside her. "Relax." He said softly, handing her another ball. He helped her get into the right stance and gripped her hand that was holding the ball. "Right. Now step back with your right foot. Good. Pull your hand back and when you bring it forward step forward with your right foot and let go." He helped her through the motions before stepping back, allowing her to do it herself. She watched as the ball flew straight and knocked down eight of the ten pins.

Yuki turned to Sasuke, grinning as she threw herself at him in a hug. "Thank you!" She said, ecstatic. He hesitated a moment before snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her tighter against him. They stayed locked together in the embrace for a few seconds before someone wolf whistled, snapping Yuki out of her euphoria. She flushed and pulled back, not able to meet Sasuke's eyes. She quickly took a seat beside Hinata and willed her friend not to say anything. _What the hell was that?_ She thought, mortified at her actions.

The rest of the game went on event-free. Yuki still wasn't the greatest at bowling but she always managed to knock down at least a few pins. And she couldn't bring herself to look over in Sasuke's direction at all. She felt bad though—Karin had managed to situate herself beside the young Uchiha and was now fawning over him.

Towards the end of the game, Yuki and Hinata went to buy drinks for everyone and handed them out. Yuki stood to the side as she talked to Tenten and Neji about an upcoming track competition that they were both competing in. She smiled to herself at how well the two of them were getting along now. Yuki tipped her can of coke to take a sip when she was pushed from behind. She stumbled forward, the coke spilling all over her top.

"Whoops. My bad." Karin said, an unapologetic look on her face. "You better go wash that off before it dries." She smirked at Yuki triumphantly and Yuki felt herself getting furious. She noticed everyone looking her way, a couple snickering—Kiba and Ino—while her friends rushed to her aid. Yuki glanced at Sasuke only to find an unreadable expression on his features. She looked away from him, her anger suddenly turning to humiliation. She felt her eyes well up with tears but refused to let them fall with so many people watching.

"Come on," Hinata held her arm as she led Yuki to the bathroom, Tenten following closely behind.

* * *

As soon as the trio made it to the bathroom Yuki started to sob. Great, gut wrenching sobs left her and her friends engulfed her in a hug, patting her back as they murmured soothing words. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Yuki pulled herself together, pulling away from them and giving her friends a watery smile.

"I'm sorry." Yuki muttered as she wiped her eyes.

"Why are you sorry?" Tenten frowned. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Yuki sniffled. "I don't know when I became such a coward when it came to Karin. I used to have no problem standing up to her but now… lately she has been scaring me."

"Scaring you?" Hinata asked, her eyes filled with worry. She patted the sniffling girl on the back comfortingly.

Yuki shrugged. "Everyone knows that Karin is obsessed with Sasuke. And they also know that she hates me. So when it looks like Sasuke and I have become friends, it must make her really mad. I'm just afraid she's going to do something horrible to me because of it."

Tenten shoved her hands on her hips, glaring. "It's not your fault that you were paired up with Sasuke and have to spend so much time with him. And it is definitely none of her business if you want to be friends with Sasuke. Man, I have never been so angry in my life! I want to hit her. I seriously want to go out there and smack that stupid smirk off of that stupid face of hers."

Yuki laughed despite herself. "Please don't Tenten. I don't want you to ruin your perfect image."

"I'd be more than happy to ruin my image for my best friends. You know that right?" She asked, a little hurt.

"Of course I know that!" Yuki reassured her with a smile. "But I don't want you to have to. I can deal with Karin myself. I just need to… find the inner me I suppose."

"You can do it Yuki." Hinata smiled encouragingly. "N-not that I'm saying you should hit her, but I want you to be able to find that self-confidence again."

Yuki felt herself getting teary again and pulled her friends in for another hug. "I love you girls."

"We love you too." Tenten replied, pulling away, her nose crinkling sourly. "But you seriously need to get out of that shirt. It's all sticky."

Before Yuki could voice that she didn't have anything else to wear, the bathroom door opened and Sakura walked in, holding a jumper that was much too big to be hers. "Here," she said, handing it to Yuki. "Sasuke asked me to give this to you."

Tenten rounded on the pinkette, glaring. "Did he? I'm surprised you didn't run off with it. Or spill coke on it so Yuki couldn't wear it."

Sakura blushed lightly but stood her ground. "I'm sorry Karin made you spill your drink. It wasn't nice of her. And I know you probably won't believe me but I'm not like her. If you do like Sasuke—" Sakura cut off Yuki's attempts at denial. "—then you need to stand up to her. Show her that you aren't just going to take it lying down."

Yuki eyed the pinkette suspiciously. "Why are you giving me advice? Shouldn't you be on Karin's side?"

"I told you that I'm not like her. I like Sasuke enough that I want him to be happy, no matter who he chooses, even if it isn't me."

Yuki was at a loss for what to say to that. "Um alright then. Thanks, I guess. Though I don't know why you'd think he'd choose me either."

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Then you really are an idiot."

After Sakura left, Yuki quickly stripped off her sticky shirt and threw on Sasuke's jumper. It was big and warm and she couldn't help but close her eyes and inhale. He smelled of cologne with just the tiniest hint of sweat and Yuki thought she could live off that smell forever. Her eyes popped open, alarmed at her thoughts and a blush crept over her cheeks.

Yuki's friends were giving her a funny look but she ignored them, making her way to the exit. "You guys coming?" She asked when she noticed they hadn't moved. The pair exchanged a knowing glance at each other before trailing behind the brunette.

Back out on the floor, it looked like the game had finished. Going by Naruto's pout Yuki guessed that her team had won. Tenten walked straight over to Neji and sat down while Hinata stayed by Yuki's side. Yuki noticed that Karin was no longer all over Sasuke, but was sulking on one of the couches by herself. _Good. Serves her right. _

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked after making his way over to her.

Yuki made herself meet his eyes and smile. "Yeah I'm good now. Thank you for the jumper, it was a real lifesaver."

"You're welcome."

"Do you mind if we go home now? I don't really feel like staying any longer." Sasuke nodded and went to tell Naruto that he was leaving. "Tenten, we're going to leave now." Yuki said as she made her way to her friend.

"Oh," Tenten couldn't stop the look of disappointment on her face and Yuki felt bad about making her leave early.

"I'll take her home." Neji announced, nodding at Yuki.

"You're sure? Thank you Neji." Yuki smiled broadly at the couple. "Have fun kids."

Yuki walked back towards where Sasuke was now waiting for her. She looked around for Hinata and found her talking with her crush. "Y-y-your bike?" She asked nervously.

Naruto was smiling, though Yuki noticed he looked a touch nervous. "Yeah. I want you to see my bike. And maybe I could give you a ride home too?"

"O-on your b-b-bike?" Yuki feared her lavender eyed friend was close to fainting but she smiled nonetheless.

Naruto laughed. "Of course on my bike! Don't worry, you'll be completely safe. So, what do you say? Do you want to?"

Hinata managed to nod head. "O-okay." Naruto broke out into a grin and started talking in rapid-fire about his bike, seemingly oblivious to how happy he had just made the young Hyuga.

"Looks like it's just us two." Sasuke stated, looking down at her. "You still want to go now?"

Yuki cursed the sudden butterflies that filled her stomach. "Yes please."

Sasuke led Yuki back towards the car, a hand resting on the small of her back. _I wonder if he realises he is doing that? _She thought. _And how nervous it's making me._ Yuki shook her head to dispel the thoughts._Pull yourself together girl. You've been in a car with him before. _But, she realised, for some reason this time it felt different. Sasuke opened the passenger door for her and Yuki slid inside, her palms suddenly sweaty and her mouth dry. Yuki really hoped she could survive the trip home.

* * *

**Done! Please tell me what you thought. I love getting reviews and feedback on how I am going. :D**

**Thanks for reading~**


	9. Of Car Rides and Cat Fights

**I don't really have anything to say here today. Please enjoy the story! :D **

* * *

Yuki lay in bed Monday morning, not at all ready to get up for school. She had no idea how she should react to Sasuke when she saw him. Yuki blushed, remembering the drive home on Saturday evening. It wasn't like something had happened between them—they had just talked—but it felt like they had grown closer. Yuki pretended she wasn't scared out of her mind at that notion.

Sasuke's jumper lay across Yuki's desk chair and she turned her head to look at it. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she had fallen asleep while wearing the jumper after she had gotten home, the smell of it soothing her to sleep. Yuki had washed it since and now all it smelled of was detergent, ready to be given back to the young Uchiha.

Yuki gazed up at the ceiling, her mind turning to Karin. She was sick of feeling nervous when it came to that red head and Yuki was determined to stand up for herself again. She and Sasuke were friends—though it was a little strange to admit that—and Karin would have to put up with it. Yuki wasn't going to avoid Sasuke just to make that cow happy.

"Yuki, come down for breakfast!" Her mum called from downstairs, no doubt getting ready for work. Yuki sighed and steeled herself for the day ahead.

A honk came from outside half an hour later while Yuki was watching the television. She switched it off and frowned before moving to the window to check it out. Yuki's eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips when she saw Sasuke's jeep sitting in her driveway. What on earth was he doing there? Yuki rushed to grab her schoolbag before making her way out to the jeep.

"Ah, good morning?" Yuki gave Sasuke a questioning look as she opened the passenger door.

"Good morning." Sasuke replied, a faint smile on his lips. "I thought you might like a ride to school." He added with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

"Oh. Thank you." Yuki smiled and slid into the passenger seat. "I brought your jumper for you. It's in my bag."

"Thanks,"

The rest of the drive was quiet, which just made Yuki even more nervous. She spent the majority of the drive fidgeting in her seat, unable to keep still. She wondered why Sasuke would go out of his way to pick her up and then not talk to her on the drive to school. What was up with that? Was he just being polite? Did he still feel bad about what happened to her on Saturday? _He could at least talk to me a little bit. _She huffed inwardly. _We got along so well Saturday night. Why is he so distant today? _Yuki concluded that it must have been his mood swings acting up again.

They finally made it to school and Yuki let out a breath of relief as she hopped out of the tension-filled jeep. She dug into her backpack and pulled out his jumper, unceremoniously shoving it into his arms. "Here. Thanks again for letting me use it Saturday night." Sasuke nodded, giving Yuki a weird look as he took the jumper from her. "Um yeah. Thanks as well for the ride to school."

Sasuke's lips quirked up into a half smirk. "You've already thanked me for that."

Yuki willed herself not to flush at his amused gaze. "Yes. Well, I didn't know if you heard me or not. You weren't very talkative on the drive here."

It was Sasuke's turn to look uncomfortable. His eyes darted around the area, avoiding Yuki's. "Sorry, I was just thinking." A frown pulled at his lips that made Yuki wonder if everything was alright. She decided not to ask him however, since he tended to snap at her when she pried into his personal life.

"Well I better go find my girls. I'll see you in class, yeah?" Yuki was torn. She wanted to be as far away from Sasuke as possible but at the same time she wanted to stay with him, especially when he looked that vulnerable. Yuki chickened out though and decided that retreating was the better option. With a final wave goodbye, Yuki turned and made her way into the building.

* * *

"Gah! Seriously, what is wrong with me?" Yuki asked her friends while they got changed for sports. She was frustrated and confused and she didn't like it at all. "He's messing up my head so much and I don't know what to think."

Tenten and Hinata looked over at the brunette, struggling to get her legs into the sport shorts and gave her a sympathetic look. "Do you like him?" Tenten asked after Yuki had finally managed to get her shorts on.

Yuki let out a loud groan and banged her forehead against her locker, letting it rest on the cool metal. "I don't know." She admitted softly. "I mean, it's _Sasuke Uchiha_, of course I shouldn't like him but… but he's interesting and I find myself thinking about him so much more than I should."

"So you do like him." Hinata pressed, smiling at her friend.

"But it's _Sasuke!_"

Tenten walked over and patted Yuki on the back, a grin pulling at her lips. "So what? You can't help who you fall for. Sasuke isn't so bad, is he?"

Yuki shrugged in response. "Sometimes we can get along really well but then he has these mood swings and becomes a real douche. I just don't understand him at all."

"Hey, chin up girl." Tenten smiled warmly at the brunette, all humour gone from her face. "It's going to be fine. Even if you still don't know what you're feeling towards him now you'll work it out soon enough."

"Yeah, I hope so." Yuki replied. "We better get out there or Asuma will make us do laps."

Outside, the trio made their way to where Asuma and the class were waiting. Karin sneered at Yuki from her spot beside Sasuke, her eyes mocking. Yuki ignored the red head, instead deciding to stand far away from her. Karin stuck her head out to continue to sneer at the bruntte.

"You're late Ewki," Karin taunted. "What? Did you spill something on yourself again? You're such a klutz."

Yuki turned to smirk at the cow, feeling strangely calm. "I'm sorry Karin, how old are you? If you think you're insulting me then you are sorely mistaken. I am so far above you I don't even care what you think anymore."

Karin fumed, her face turning red. "Sasuke is _mine_ you tramp! Keep your filthy paws off him!"

"Sasuke is _nobody's_ you stupid cow. He's a person. You can't claim him." Yuki willed herself to stay calm, though it was hard.

"You're just saying that because you're jealous that Sasuke likes me more!" Karin taunted, sticking her nose in the air like a snob.

"Really? Because where I'm standing it looks like he isn't to impressed with you at all." Yuki smirked at the enraged teenager, amused at how angry she was getting. _Obsessive much. _She mused inwardly.

Karin stomped her foot on the ground, furious. "You think you're so great, don't you? But you're nothing but a loser. I second rate, flat chested loser. No wonder your dad left you." Karin cackled to herself but didn't have time to gloat over her little speech because Yuki launched herself at the red head, tackling her to the ground. Karin shrieked and lashed back, scratching Yuki on the cheek. A fist found its way to Karin's eye before the two girls were pulled off each other. Sasuke held Yuki back by the waist while Asuma-Sensei was holding Karin at bay.

"Detention for a week, both of you!" Asuma yelled. "You're lucky I don't suspend you both for that type of indecent behaviour! Now go sit to the side, I don't want to see your faces at the moment."

Karin huffed, visibly holding back tears from the pain. She stomped to the side of the court, throwing herself to the ground and folding her arms obstinately.

Sasuke pulled Yuki back slightly, turning her around to face him. He brought his finger to her chin, lifting her head to inspect the cut on her cheek. "Are you alright?"

Yuki could still feel her hands shaking in fury. Or was it sorrow? She didn't know. All she knew was that she desperately wanted to run away somewhere and cry. But if she left the class now she'd be in even more trouble and she didn't want that. But how dare Karin use her father against her. He didn't leave her. He—

"Yuki," Sasuke was shaking her shoulders lightly, his face looking worried. "I asked if you were alright."

"I'm fine." The brunette managed to get out. She couldn't lose it here. Not with so many people watching on.

"Are you sure? I can take you to the infirmary if you want. You don't want that cut to get infected."

Why did he care? Yuki's misery turned to anger and she glared at the young Uchiha. "I said I'm fine!" She snapped, shaking him off. Yuki didn't know why she was getting angry at Sasuke when he was being nothing but nice, but she didn't want him to look at her right now. She spared a glance at her friends and almost lost her battle to not cry. Tenten had a hand to her mouth, her eyes filled with grief for her friend, while Hinata was openly crying, her beautiful heart breaking for the brunette. Yuki turned away from them and made her way to the sidelines, far away from Karin.

After about ten minutes her friends approached her, helping her up. Without a word, they led Yuki to the infirmary where the nurse cleaned the scratch on her cheek before leaving them so Yuki could cry with her friends.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a little bit short. To be honest, I had a lot of trouble writing it, so I hope it turned out ok. I'm not going to have internet for a week or two so I may not be able to update. I'll try to when I get a chance though, so please bear with me. **

**Reviews and feedback make me happy!**

**Thanks for reading~**


	10. Of Memories and Invitations

**I'm back! Sorry for the delay in updating. But at least this chapter is extra long. Think of it as an apology to all my dear followers ^.^**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Yuki called her mum at lunch time, complaining of an upset stomach so she could go home early. She spent the rest of the day in front of the television screen with a tub of chocolate ice-cream and the old photo album out to keep her company while episodes of Pokemon played in the background. The tub was half finished by the time there was a knock on the door later that afternoon. Yuki looked at the clock—it was a quarter past three and her mum would be home soon—wondering who it could be at the door. Tenten and Hinata never knocked anymore, they knew to come straight in. Yuki knew she should go to the door and see who it was but she didn't have the energy to get up. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had done since she came home and she felt exhausted.

"It's open!" Yuki called from her place on the couch. The door opened to reveal Sasuke in the entrance way, holding a brown paper bag in his hands. "Oh. Hi Sasuke." She turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the mess her face had become.

"You should really have the door locked when you're home by yourself." He scolded from his spot near the entrance. "And don't tell people to come in when you don't know who's there."

Yuki rolled her eyes at the screen, where Brock was declaring his love to Nurse Joy. Again. "Is that all you came here for? To lecture me?"

Sasuke let out a loud sigh and Yuki imagined him rubbing his temple in frustration. "No. Actually I just wanted to know if you were feeling better." Sasuke explained, making his way slowly—cautiously—to the couch, not wanting to set the brunette off again.

Feeling herself deflate, Yuki wiped her damp eyes with the back of her hand before turning to face the young Uchiha and giving him a watery smile. "Thank you Sasuke. And I'm sorry for snapping at you at school."

"It's fine." Sasuke finally made his way over and sat beside the upset teenager. "So? How are you going?"

Yuki lifted the tub of chocolate ice-cream and shook it at him. "Just what the doctor ordered. I'm feeling much better now."

Sasuke peered into the container and raised an eyebrow at her. "You ate all of that in one go? I'm impressed."

Yuki shrugged, though a grin spread across her lips. "It's what I do."

"So I'm guessing you won't feel like these then?" Sasuke said, holding out the bag for her to take.

Yuki grabbed the bag and looked inside, spying two blueberry muffins at the bottom. Her grin spread even wider and she looked back at a slightly flushed Sasuke. "This is great Sasuke, thanks so much!" She immediately took one of the muffins out and broke it into two halves, handing one to the raven haired teen.

"Thanks," Sasuke took the offered muffin half with a smirk. "I'm sorry for what Karin said today." He stated after a few minutes of silence.

Yuki gave him a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault Sasuke so don't worry about it."

Sasuke looked at her pointedly. "But I am worried. She upset you." Yuki blushed at his words and glanced at her lap, unable to keep eye contact. The photo album was still open and she gazed at a picture of her at about three years of age riding atop her father's shoulders as he ran around the yard. They both had big grins on their faces as they looked into the camera. "Is that your dad?" Sasuke asked softly as he leaned over Yuki's shoulder to see the photo.

Yuki nodded, her eyes filling up at the memory. "Yeah, that's dad. I don't…" Yuki took a deep breath, giving herself courage to say what she wanted to say. "I don't usually tell people this—only Tenten and Hinata know the story—but I don't want you to think my dad walked out on us. Most people know that it's just me and my mum and they naturally assume that my dad left us." Yuki forced herself to look Sasuke in the eye, even though hers were blurry. "He had a brain tumour. By the time we were aware of it, it was too late. I was only eight years old when he died."

Arms wrapped around Yuki and she was pulled into Sasuke's hard chest. The warmth of his arms encircling her was the last straw and Yuki felt herself give way to tears again. She sobbed into his chest, her arms gripping the front of his shirt tightly in an effort to draw herself even closer to the warm embrace.

"I miss him so much." She managed to choke out around sobs. Sasuke shushed her, his hands running in soothing circles on her back. They stayed that way for a few minutes before Yuki drew back, wiping her hand under her nose and sniffling. "Sorry. I dirtied your shirt."

Sasuke was gazing at her with such concerned eyes, Yuki realised it should frighten her. "Don't worry about it." He murmured. His hand came up to cup Yuki's cheek and he ran his thumb across it, chasing away the stray tears on her skin. Yuki was both alarmed and comforted at the gesture and she leaned into his palm, closing her eyes. Sasuke whispered her name and Yuki's eyes fluttered open, watching as his face inched closer to her own. He lifted her chin and her heart stuttered in her chest as her eyes shut again, anticipation coursing through her.

"I'm home Yuki! How are you feeling?" The couple bolted apart at the sound of her mother's voice. The older woman was walking through the door humming a tune, completely oblivious to the teenagers in the lounge room. She peered over and noticed the boy on the couch with her daughter. "I didn't know you had a friend over dear."

"H-hi mum. Sasuke was just coming over to give me some schoolwork that I missed out on." Yuki was impressed at how easily the lie came out. "He's also my partner for the English assignment we have to do, so we were going to go through a bit of that."

Her mother continued to look at her, noting the puffy, red eyes on her daughter. She trusted her daughter enough to know that Yuki would tell her what was wrong when she was ready. She waved a cheery hand at Sasuke before continuing on to her room to change.

"I should go." Sasuke said, standing abruptly once they were alone again.

"O-okay. Thanks for the muffins." Yuki replied, silently cursing herself for stuttering.

"You're welcome." He made his way to the front door before turning back to look at her again. "See you in the morning?"

A smile spread across Yuki's face and she nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

The next week seemed to set a pattern for Yuki and Sasuke. He would drive her to school in the mornings and drive her home in the afternoons. They would detour to the café on the way home a couple of times after school to eat blueberry muffins and work on their English assignment. And at school Sasuke and Naruto would join the girls by their tree at lunch time. Yuki noticed that during those lunch breaks Naruto seemed extra boisterous. He seemed to have even more energy than usual, though at the same time he seemed almost shy. The blonde said he was only there so he and Hinata could work on their assignment but he had yet to get it out and work on it during the break. Naruto spent most of his time trying to talk to a blushing and stuttering Hinata, though it was hard for him to get anything out of her. Yuki didn't know if Naruto thought the Hyuga was weird and was just trying to get her to speak, but whenever Hinata did say a few syllables he would grin like a madman.

It was on one such lunch break while Naruto was trying to coax the crimson Hinata into talking that Sasuke strolled over to the small group.

"Oi Sasuke! Why are you late?" Naruto asked, turning his head towards the Uchiha.

"I had a meeting with Yamato-Sensei." Sasuke replied as he took his seat beside Yuki.

"You had a meeting with the scary guidance councillor? Why?" Naruto tilted his head, confused.

"None of your business, idiot." Sasuke retorted, glaring at the blonde. Naruto just shrugged in response, turning back to talk to Hinata again.

Yuki reached over to touch Sasuke's arm, hesitant to ask if everything was alright. She didn't like when he snapped at her for being concerned. _But, _she decided with determination, _I'm his friend so I have the right to be concerned. If he snaps at me then I'll snap right back at him._

Resolved, Yuki let her hand rest on Sasuke's arm in a comforting gesture. "Is everything okay?"

Sasuke surprised Yuki by sighing. He glanced down at the hand resting on his arm before looking back at the brunette. "Everything's fine."

"That sigh didn't sound 'fine' to me. Don't worry, I'm not going to pry," Yuki rushed to add when Sasuke opened his mouth to speak again. "But I'm always here if you want to talk." Yuki smiled warmly at the young Uchiha—she wondered when her smiles stopped being forced and started coming out naturally—and nudged his shoulder with hers.

"Thanks," He replied, a small smile playing on his lips. He let out an 'oomph' when Naruto came up and locked his arm around the Uchiha's neck.

"Sasuke, stop flirting with Yuki and come to the cafeteria with me." The blonde demanded, winking at the brunette over Sasuke's head.

"Idiot, get off of me!" Sasuke growled, grabbing Naruto's head to shove him away. Yuki was sure she hadn't imagined the faint dusting of pink that covered Sasuke's cheeks and she smiled shyly, her own cheeks flushed at the blonde's comment. They had _not _been flirting._Does Sasuke even know _how_to flirt?Do I? _She mused. She had never flirted with a boy before so she wasn't sure how to go about it. Not that she was thinking about flirting with Sasuke or anything…

The raven haired teen finally managed to pry Naruto off and he scowled at the blonde. "Go by yourself."

"But Sasuke," The blonde whined, dragging out the 'e' in his friend's name. "We always go together."

"That's because you're an idiot that can't do anything by yourself." Sasuke retorted. "Take someone else."

A sly grin appeared on the blonde's lips and Sasuke glared suspiciously at his friend, slightly worried. He knew that look. "Yuki, can you please come to the cafeteria with me? Sasuke is being mean." Naruto pouted, giving Yuki puppy dog eyes.

"A-ah, sure, I guess so." Yuki stuttered, not at all expecting that. She didn't really _want_ to go but Sasuke had already rejected him and he looked desperate. She went to stand up only to have a hand grip her wrist and pull her back down.

The raven haired teen glowered at his blonde friend fiercely. "She isn't going with you either." He barked.

"She already said she would Sasuke. Don't be such a jealous boyfriend." Naruto taunted back.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Yuki yelled at the same time Sasuke growled "Shut up idiot."

Naruto burst out laughing. "He's not denying it!" He turned to Yuki and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Hear that Yuki, he didn't deny being your—" Sasuke punched Naruto in the gut before he could finish his sentence and the blonde doubled over, winded. "Owww. Sasuke that hurt!"

Sasuke grunted, obviously satisfied. "Good."

Yuki tried to tune the boys out when Naruto started yelling at the young Uchiha while Sasuke barked angrily back at him. She turned and scooted closer to her two girlfriends, wincing. The two girls just giggled at the brunette, amused at the whole situation.

Finally Naruto jumped away from Sasuke and bounced towards the three girls. "Hinata," he sang cheerfully. "Would you like to come to the cafeteria with me?" He gave his most charming grin and Hinata almost swooned.

"M-m-me?" The blunette squeaked, turning beat red. At Naruto's insistent nod the young teen blushed darker. "O-okay." Naruto whooped and grabbed Hinata's hand, pulling her to her feet. After Hinata steadied her feet—she had almost fallen over again after Naruto helped her—the duo made their way towards the building, Naruto chattering away as the shy Hyuga tried not to faint from their close proximity. Tenten jumped up and followed after them, calling back to Yuki something about needing to find Neji to go through more of their assignment.

Yuki smiled as the trio walked away, feeling blessed to have such amazing friends. She glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye to see him scowling at something in the distance. She surprised herself by giggling at him which drew his attention and he raised a questioning eyebrow at the brunette. Yuki just shook her head at the young Uchiha, the grin not leaving her face.

"What?" He grunted, a slightly puzzled look marring his features.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that you have a really good relationship with Naruto." She replied, still smiling amusedly.

"You call _that_ a good relationship?" He asked, indicating what had just gone down between the duo.

"Yeah, I do. You just seem so much more relaxed around him. Like you can be yourself and not put up that wall of yours that keeps people out. I like that."

"He's an idiot but he's a good guy. He's been there for me through some…hard times." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, realising what he had just said. "Don't even think about telling him I said that."

Yuki pretended to zip her lips, throwing the imaginary key behind her shoulder. "My lips are sealed. It's important to have friends you can rely on so I'm glad you have Naruto."

Sasuke grunted, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the conversation at hand. He didn't like talking about his feelings to people. Sasuke took a deep breath, steadying himself for what was to come. He had something he wanted to ask the brunette but he just couldn't get the words out. _Don't be a coward! _He scolded himself with an internal scowl.

"So did you want to go to the café this afternoon to work on our assignment?" Yuki asked, frowning when she noticed Sasuke wasn't paying attention. "Sasuke?" She shook his arm and he blinked at her, refocussing. "I said did you want to go to the café this afternoon for our assignment?"

"No."

"No?" Yuki raised her eyebrow at the Uchiha, confused. He usually gave a quick grunt of affirmation to this request. "You're not getting sick of blueberry muffins already, are you?" She teased.

A light chuckle escaped Sasuke's lips and he smirked at the brunette. "I'm afraid that if I say yes you'll hit me." He replied, making Yuki laugh. "But no, that's not the reason."

"Oh? Do you want to skip today then? We can do it tomorrow instead if that's better for you."

Sasuke shook his head, looking slightly annoyed. "No we can do it today."

"So… did you want to go somewhere else then instead of the café?" Yuki asked slowly, silently hoping she could still get her muffin.

Sasuke frowned deeply, frustrated. "No. Yes." He growled softly, not able to get his thoughts into words.

"Are you okay Sasuke?" Yuki tried to keep a straight face, but an amused smile crept onto her lips. It wasn't every day that the great Sasuke Uchiha was at a loss for words—not that he spoke much anyway, but when he did he always seemed to know what to say.

"Hn, I'm fine." His eyebrows furrowed and Yuki felt the impulsive urge to reach out and smooth out the creases. She placed her hands in her lap so she wouldn't be tempted to do so.

"O…kay then. Well, when you figure out what you wanted to say let me know." She grinned at the sudden scowl on his face. "So my mum wants to take me out shopping again this Saturday." Yuki said, deciding to change the topic. "We haven't been spending much time together lately because she's had to work a lot and she wants to 'bond'. I'm a bit worried though because she's a scary shopper. Seriously, she's fierce when she's on the hunt for a good sale. It's a little embarrassing. And—"

"Stop." Sasuke reached out and grabbed Yuki's arm to stop her babbling.

"Hm? Sorry, was my story boring you?"

The raven haired teen took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Come to my place this afternoon to work on our assignment."

Yuki's eyebrow shot up in astonishment at his demanding tone. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"I'm asking you."

"Really? Because it sounded like you were telling me."

"Fine." Sasuke growled, uncomfortable with having to ask again. "Do you want to come to my place this afternoon?"

"To?" She inquired, too amused to be nice.

"To work on our assignment." He replied in a tone suggesting it should be obvious while glaring at the brunette.

"Does that mean no blueberry muffins then?" Yuki asked with a pout.

"We can stop there on the way to get some muffins if you want." He replied, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Yuki pretended to think it through, ignoring the look of impatience on Sasuke's face. In truth, she was actually really excited to visit his place, though a little nervous as well.

"That should be fine." She said with a grin, unable to tease the young Uchiha longer. "As long as I get my muffins."

"Of course."

"Oh!" Yuki exclaimed suddenly. "Should I bring something for your parents? Do they like muffins? What should I call them?" She felt suddenly very nervous. Was she ready to meet Sasuke's parents? They were like super rich, weren't they?

"They won't be home this afternoon." Sasuke stated, not quite meeting Yuki's eyes. "Dad's away on a trip and mum doesn't get home until later."

"So it will just be… the two of us?" Yuki questioned, feeling immensely more nervous than a moment ago. Sasuke gave an affirmative grunt, still not meeting her eye.

"I thought it would be easier to bring you over when they weren't home." Sasuke admitted. "The maid should be there, if that makes you feel better."

_He has a maid? _Yuki mused to herself. _Wait, what am I saying? Of _course_he would have a maid. _She smiled at the young Uchiha. "I'm looking forward to it."

A small smile found its way on Sasuke's lips at her words. "Good."

* * *

**Soooo? What did you think? Do you think Sasuke is becoming a bit OOC? Please let me know your opinions, as I want to keep them (Sasuke especially) in character as much as I can. **

**I didn't get to do as much writing as I had originally planned while away from the internet, which means I haven't gotten any further than this. ^.^" Gah! I need to do some serious writing! I just get distracted easily...**

**Reviews and constructive criticism are loved!**

**Thanks for reading~**


	11. Of Mansions and Confessions

The house was gorgeous. _More like mansion. _Yuki mused as she took in the building before her. It was a huge double story home with a brick outer body. _No wonder they need a maid. Do they even _use _all the rooms? _The gardens too were beautiful and immaculate. The hedges leading up to the front door were trimmed into perfect squares and there was a rose garden in the middle of the roundabout that held the most exquisite roses Yuki had ever seen. _They must have a gardener too._ She concluded.

"It's amazing." Yuki breathed in awe, not taking her eyes away from the building.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted from his place in the driver's seat. He opened his door and got out, walking around the jeep to open the passenger side door for her. "It's not that great."

"Thank you," Yuki stepped out of the car, smiling at the raven haired teen. "What do you mean it isn't great? This is… Well it's magnificent!"

The Uchiha just scoffed before turning to lead the way to the front door. He was the one who had invited so he didn't want to get into an argument about just how 'magnificent' this house really was.

Yuki trailed behind the teen, her eyes still sweeping over the beautiful surroundings. She was excited to see what the inside was like.

Sasuke opened the door and stepped aside, allowing the brunette to go in first. She let out an involuntary gasp at the sight that met her. White walls and marble floors led the way to a grand staircase in the middle of the room. Photos hung on the wall of a happy family when Sasuke was only a little boy of no more than five years old. There were vases and statues that no doubt cost a fortune and made Yuki stand rigidly still, afraid of touching a single thing. The house was amazingly grand but it felt… lacking.

Sasuke took her on a quick tour of the downstairs, which consisted of a kitchen, dining area, two sitting rooms and one massive entertainment room which held both a huge flat screen television and a projector screen. There were two bathrooms downstairs, one off the entertainment room and one off the dining area.

"You have like every gaming console under the sun!" Yuki exclaimed, her eyes locking onto the cabinet filled with Playstation's, X-Box's and Nintendo consoles. She turned to face Sasuke but he just shrugged, looking bored. "You must have a blast when you bring friends over."

"I don't bring friends over." Sasuke replied with an annoyed sigh.

Yuki cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at his answer. "Really? Not even Naruto?"

"He's come over a couple of times but no, I don't like having people here."

"Oh. But you invited me over." The brunette stated, a little confused. Why didn't he like having people over when his house was so flipping awesome? She would be having sleepovers every weekend with Tenten and Hinata if she lived in a place like this.

The young Uchiha shrugged again and looked away from her. "I wanted you to see it at least once I suppose."

Yuki was still gazing at Sasuke with a puzzled face. "We should have everyone over sometime to play, it'd be so much fun!"

"No." Sasuke sent her a glare that said she was stupid to even suggest the idea. "I don't want you to come here again."

The brunette winced, more than a little hurt at the comment. "Ouch Sasuke. No need to be so mean about it. It was just a suggestion."

The two were silent for a few minutes, Yuki turning her back on the Uchiha to look at the games. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sasuke let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. "That's not what I meant. It's not that I don't _want _you here. I just don't want you here when my parents are home."

Yuki turned back around, an eyebrow quirked in response. "Why? Don't you want me to meet your parents?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Won't they like me?" An idea struck the brunette and cut at her heart. "Would they think me too poor? Too uncultured to be your friend?"

Sasuke growled, looking frustrated, though Yuki didn't know if it was frustration at her or at himself. "No, that's not why. Just drop it, will you!"

"Fine!" Yuki snapped back, standing up to glower at the Uchiha. "But you seriously need to get that stick out of your backside and realise that there are people around you that _care _about you and that are willing to listen if you would just _open up _and _talk_ to them!" With that, the brunette stomped past the silent Uchiha and made her way to one of the sitting rooms. She wanted to go sulk somewhere he couldn't find her but she felt if she wandered off too much she would get lost in this enormous house.

Sitting down on the plush couch, Yuki let out a sigh. Why did he always keep things to himself? Maybe if he talked to someone he wouldn't be so much of a jerk all of the time. Yuki sighed again, letting her eyes roam the room around her. It was almost bare, save the couch and some expensive looking art pieces on the wall. Again, Yuki felt that something was lacking in this beautiful big house.

"It doesn't feel like a home." She mumbled, finally realising what it was.

"No, it doesn't." Sasuke agreed from behind her, making her jump in surprise. He moved to sit next to her on the couch, making sure to leave plenty of space between them. His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "I don't like talking about my parents to people." He finally said, looking Yuki in the eye, his own eyes softening slightly.

Her heart stuttered in her chest and she didn't dare breathe. Was he going to open up to her? Yuki didn't want to ruin the moment but she had to urge him on. "Why not?" She whispered.

Sasuke's eyes turned hard again and he frowned. "Because I don't." He snapped. "Let's just get on with our assignment already."

Yuki sent him a glare of her own. "Fine by me." She retorted. She was _so_ not going to try and help him ever again. The jerk.

* * *

"Dammit!" Sasuke cursed, looking at the big grandfather clock by the wall. He started picking up his books, placing them in a neat pile at the edge of the coffee table.

"Hey," Yuki protested when he closed her notebook, her pen poised in the air to finish the paragraph she was working on. "What the hell are you doing? I'm still working!"

The young Uchiha glared at her slightly. "I have to take you home."

"But it's only five o'clock."

"Which means my parents will be home soon. Now hurry up and put your stuff away." He practically shoved her books in her face before grabbing her backpack and throwing it at her.

The bag bounced off her forehead, eliciting a growl from the brunette. What the _hell_ was wrong with him? She decided to take her time in putting her books away, amused at the way Sasuke paced the room like a caged lion.

"You _really _don't want me to meet your parents, do you?" She questioned, still a bit confused as to _why_.

"No, I really don't." He replied sharply. Sasuke suddenly cursed again at the sound of the front door opening and he looked around the room almost frantically.

"I hope you're not thinking of a place you can stash me so your parents don't see me." Yuki commented, an eyebrow raised at Sasuke's strange behaviour.

"It was a thought." He mumbled to himself. He turned to glare at the brunette again, as if it were _her _fault that his parents were home. When he heard his father call his name the young Uchiha visibly paled. Yuki's eyes widened in concern. Were his parents really that bad?

"Sasuke!" A deep voice bellowed, and an older, taller version of Sasuke walked into the room, frowning. "Why didn't you answer me?" He asked angrily.

"Sorry Sir. I was doing an English assignment with a schoolmate." The younger Uchiha replied, holding himself back from fidgeting from foot to foot.

His father finally looked towards where Yuki was sitting by the coffee table, her eyes like two round saucers. He glared at her accusingly before turning his glower onto his son. "Do you think you have the time to be dallying around with some girl? You have more important things to be doing."

Sasuke glared back at his father, annoyed. "We weren't dallying around. We've been working on our assignment together that's due at the end of the week."

Uchiha Senior scoffed condescendingly at his son. "Is this who you've been 'studying' with almost every afternoon after school? You've been neglecting your priorities for this… this _whore_? Do I need to pull you out of school so you can focus all of your energy onto the business?"

Yuki sputtered something unintelligible at being called a whore, unsure wether to feel shocked or indignant. Sasuke however grew incensed at his father. "Yuki is _not _a whore and you'll not call her that again!" He seethed in an ominously quiet voice. "Now if you'll excuse us, I have to take her home." Sasuke turned his back on his father and walked over to Yuki, holding out his hand to help her up. After she was standing, he took her bag and flung it over his shoulder before grabbing her hand once again and stalking past his father, making his way to the front door.

"Don't you dare ignore me while I'm in the middle of a conversation with you, you insolent boy! Come back here right now!"

"Just ignore him." Sasuke said quietly, still walking to the front door. They passed the kitchen and Yuki looked in, surprised to see a petite dark haired woman hunched over by the counter, crying. She had streaks of grey in her hair and hard lines on her face; no doubt Sasuke's mother. The raven haired lady looked at Yuki, allowing the younger girl to see the harrowed look in her eyes.

"Is your mom okay?" Yuki asked quietly after they had made it out of the house unscathed. She released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding and looked back at the beautiful yet devastating house.

The young Uchiha just grunted, gripping her hand almost to the point that it hurt. She winced slightly at the anger she saw in his eyes and decided to drop it for the moment. He obviously wasn't in the mood to talk.

Sasuke opened the passenger door and helped Yuki into her seat, finally relinquishing his hold on her hand. She mumbled a thank you while he settled himself into his side and turned the ignition on.

They were almost to Yuki's house when Sasuke finally decided to talk. "They just got back from the divorce lawyers." He said in a voice that barely contained his emotion.

A hand flew to Yuki's mouth and she gasped. "Sasuke I'm so sorry."

"Hn. They've been unhappy for a long time. I didn't think they'd actually go through with it though, but I'm kind of glad. Mom is too fragile to handle dad's bursts of anger and over the years it has made her quite sick."

"Your poor mom." Yuki failed to hold back her tears, weeping for Sasuke and his mother. How horrible to live with a man so controlling that it destroyed ones health. And Sasuke, putting up with a father that was so harsh on you your whole life—what kind of childhood had he endured?

"What's wrong?" Sasuke looked alarmed at the tears streaming down the brunette's face.

"I'm sorry. I just… I couldn't imagine living like that." Yuki sniffled, trying to stop her tears. This was neither the time nor the place. "What are you going to do when your mom leaves?"

"I'm going to go with her. I'll have to find a job to support us but it is better than staying with my father. Dad wants me to take over his business when I'm old enough—he owns over half of the hotels in the city—but I don't want to. I have dreams of my own but he is too stubborn and selfish to see that."

Yuki didn't hesitate from placing a comforting hand on his knee. Even though her father was dead, she still had memories—old as they were—of him loving her and playing with her. All Sasuke had was memories of a hardhearted man who was probably rarely home to spend time with him.

Sasuke looked down at the hand on his knee and took one hand off the steering wheel to pick it up. He rolled it over so they were palm to palm and intertwined his fingers through hers, placing them both back onto his knee. Yuki's heart skidded to a stop before beating at an alarmingly ferocious pace, her cheeks going a deep shade of pink at the contact. She couldn't take her hand away though. It felt right. His hand was big and warm and it encircled her smaller one and made her feel safe.

"What about your brother?" She asked, her eyes moving from their entwined hands to his profile, taking in his beautiful features while he eyed the road.

Sasuke started running his thumb in little patterns on the back of her hand and her breath hitched in her throat from the feelings it evoked within her. "Itachi didn't want to take over the business either so he ran away to college and left me behind to look after mom and put up with dad's crap." His eyes hardened and Yuki thought she knew why. He loved his brother but Sasuke felt Itachi had abandoned him by leaving for college and that must hurt him a lot.

"Maybe he just felt a lot of pressure from your father, being the older son and all. I'm sure he didn't mean to abandon you when he left." Yuki didn't want Sasuke to be bitter towards his brother when she knew they used to be good friends.

He shrugged, letting out a grunt of indifference as he pulled into Yuki's driveway. She turned to face the raven haired teen, a small smile on her lips. "Thank you for confiding in me Sasuke." She said. "That makes me happy."

He faced her, an eyebrow raised sceptically. "Even though you were crying?"

"Yes. Even though I'm sad for what you've had to go through I'm happy that you thought me a good enough friend to confide in me." She leaned forward and placed a kiss to his cheek before pulling away and opening up her door. "I'll see you in the morning?" She asked, looking back at him when she had gotten out of the car.

Sasuke sat in his seat, a slightly stunned expression on his face. He cleared his throat, blinking. "Yeah. I'll pick you up in the morning."

Yuki walked inside, her smile turning into a worried frown. _I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble when he goes back home. _

* * *

**Gomen for the wait! I hope it was worth it.**

**I don't quite know where I'm going to take the story after this, since I haven't written any more. But I shall do my best! :D**

**Reviews and comments are much appreciated! **


	12. Of Name Calling And Text Messages

A week later Yuki and Sasuke placed their assignment on Kakashi's desk as they filed into class, feeling quite satisfied they had done a good job.

"Ah! It feels so good to finally have that finished." Yuki remarked, leaning back in her chair languidly, stretching her arms over her head. She turned to face Sasuke, a grin on her lips. "Good job partner."

A smirk found its way onto Sasuke's face as he watched the girl beside him. She reminded him of a cat he had when he was younger. He snorted, thinking of her curling up on his couch, content and purring as he stroked her head softly.

"What?" She questioned, quirking an eyebrow at him, her head tilting to one side slightly. Another image came to him, her ears pricked and whiskers twitching while she stared at him with those large, hazel eyes of hers. His lips turned up in an amused smile, fighting off another snort. "What?" She asked again, more demanding this time. "Do I have something on my face?" She brought her hand up to brush at imaginary lint on her cheek. He couldn't hold in his chuckle this time and she shot the young Uchiha a glare.

"Sorry." He said, not sounding sorry at all. "I like cats."

It was Yuki's turn to laugh. "What in the world have cats got to do with you laughing at me?"

"You remind me of a cat." Sasuke replied, gazing directly into her eyes.

She blushed, not sure if she was reading more into the comment than was actually there. _Did he just say that he likes me? Or is he just amused that I remind him of a cat? _Thankfully, she was saved from thinking of a reply as Kakashi walked into the class, closing his novel as he took a seat at his desk.

"Good." He said, his gaze dropping to the pile of assignments at his desk. "Looks like everyone made the deadline. Good job guys." He stood up, walking to the blackboard to start the class. _No rest for the wicked. _Yuki mused. But she couldn't concentrate on the class, not with Sasuke still beside her, having decided to stay there even after their assignment had ended. She moved her hair to make a wall between them, too flustered to look at him. She glanced at Tenten on the other side of the room, knowing her friend wouldn't ask Sasuke to move back to his old spot. She seemed content beside her crush, the two of them stealing glances at each other from time to time, making Tenten blush and Neji smirk. Yuki grinned despite herself. It wouldn't be too much longer for them now, she just knew it.

"Hey," A pen broke through her wall of hair to poke her on the shoulder, startling her out of her spying. She chose to ignore the boy beside her, cheeks betraying her by flushing again. "Yuki." Still she ignored him. "…Hey Kitten."

Yuki snapped around to face him, eyes wide. "Don't call me that." She hissed quietly, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She didn't want him to call her that if she was just reading too much into his comment. _Wait. Does that mean that I _would_like him to call me that if he meant what I think he meant__…__?_

"Why not? You answered to it." Sasuke's trademark smirk was back in place as he looked at her triumphantly.

"I did not!" She replied with a huff.

That infuriating smirk went up a notch. "Did too." Sasuke chuckled when he heard a low growl emanating from the brunette's throat.

Before Yuki could form a retort, a piece of chalk came flying through the air, smacking her in the forehead. "Ouch!" She let her glare turn to Kakashi. "Sensei, he started it! Why did you hit me?"

"Yours was the only voice I could hear." The grey haired teacher replied calmly before turning back to the blackboard. "Now be quiet."

Yuki grumbled to herself, lowering further down in her chair. She sent another glare towards the boy next to her before turning back to the class, determined to ignore him for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

After lunch Yuki received a text message while on her way to her next class. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone and startled to find Sasuke had texted her.

**Are you still mad at me? You didn't talk to me at all during lunch.**

How was she supposed to reply to that? And why in the world did Sasuke start texting her? They had only texted a couple of times while they had been partners, confirming when and where they would meet up to work on their assignment together. Other than that, he hadn't sent her any messages.

**What do you think? Call me Kitten again and I'll punch you. I don't do pet names.** Yuki replied as she walked into the classroom a few minutes before the bell.

His reply came almost instantaneously. **Sorry, it just came out. But you were cute, the way you reacted.**

Cute? _Cute? _Yuki's face flushed crimson, thankful Hinata wasn't beside her. The young Hyuga had gone with Naruto to the cafeteria again during lunch and hadn't made it back to their spot before the bell went for class. Yuki scrunched up her face, nibbling on her lip as she thought of what to say.

**Did you just call me cute? I hope Karin wasn't around when you wrote that, she would be all too eager to strangle me.**

**Yes, I called you cute. And don't worry, if she attacks you again, I'll protect you.**

Yuki bit her bottom lip again, her heart stuttering a beat while a small smile played on her lips. She didn't realise texting Sasuke would be so much fun.

**I don't mean to hurt your man pride but I don't need protection from her. But thank you anyway for offering it. **

Sasuke didn't reply to that and Yuki worried if she had somehow upset him. She never knew—his mood swings were as bad as a woman's sometimes. Hinata finally made it to class, her cheeks a dark shade of pink as she wobbled her way to her seat beside Yuki.

"Are you okay Hinata?" She asked, gazing in concern at her friend. "Do you have a fever?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she shook her head, her blush deepening. "N-n-no. I-I'm okay. I-It's nothing."

Yuki raised her eyebrows, her look turning sceptical. "Really? Because you're stuttering an awful lot for someone who is doing fine. Did something happen with Naruto?"

Hinata seemed to swoon in her chair and she pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks. "W-W-Why would y-you think t-t-that?"

The brunette shrugged, grinning. "Hinata." She said in a stern voice. "Tell me what happened."

"H-He k-k-kissed me." She whispered, covering her eyes as she flushed even darker.

Yuki's grin widened. She so badly wanted to tease her friend over her reaction but knew the poor girl wouldn't be able to handle much more of the conversation without fainting. Actually, Yuki was surprised Hinata was even awake for the kiss, she thought for sure her friend would pass out if Naruto got too close to her face. She decided to leave the poor teenager alone for now—she could tease her after they told Tenten—and felt her phone vibrate against her lap.

Kurenai-Sensei finally strolled into class and Yuki hid her phone under the desk so she wouldn't see it.

**That's true. I think she more likely needs protection from you. Naruto just walked into class looking mighty pleased with himself. The idiot wouldn't stop talking about how he finally got up the courage to kiss Hinata. **

Yuki grinned to herself, imagining how awkward Sasuke would have felt with that sort of conversation topic. **Kurenai-Sensei is here so I have to go. But before I do, tell Naruto this for me: If he breaks Hinata's heart I will not hesitate to break his face. **

A hand tapped Yuki on the shoulder and she looked up, finding Kurenai's stern face gazing back at her. "Don't think I can't tell what you're doing. No one smiles while looking at their lap. You can get it back after class."

Grumbling to herself, Yuki handed Kurenai her phone. _Stupid Sasuke and his stupid texting._

* * *

Yuki let out a contented sigh as she flopped herself onto the couch to watch some after-school cartoons. Sasuke had brought her back home after stopping into her favourite café to buy her a blueberry muffin—another apology for the 'Kitten' incident. She was already over it but found it funny to watch Sasuke try and apologise for it. She finally forgave him, however, after her got her the muffin. _It really was sweet of him to do that. _She thought, smiling.

Her phone chimed from where she had placed it on the coffee table and she reached out to grab it, smiling at the newest text from Sasuke.

**I feel kind of ripped off. You didn't share your muffin with me.**

Yuki snorted a laugh. **Hey, that was an apology muffin. I don't share apology muffins.**

**And here I was thinking we actually had a thing. **Came his reply a few moments later.

**Fine. Next time I'll buy you a whole muffin. Then we'll be even. **Her smile seemed to grow by the second.

**It doesn't work unless you're apologising for something.**

Yuki laughed again, rolling her eyes at her screen. **Sheesh. You're a hard man to please, ya know that? **

**So I've been told. **

A thought occurred to Yuki then and she tapped quick message to him. **You know Sasuke, you're a lot more talkative via text than in real life. **

He didn't reply straight away and Yuki was left—for the second time that day—wondering if she had hurt his feelings. But after a couple of minutes watching television she received a reply.

**It's easier for me to talk like this, I suppose. **She imagined a shrug accompanying his text and smiled.

**I understand. Are you busy with your dad again this afternoon? **Yuki bit her lip, wondering if it was okay to ask. But after a few moments of hesitance, she decided to send it. He did say he felt it easier to communicate like this, and she wasn't brave enough to bring up the topic of his father to his face at the moment.

Surprisingly, he replied almost straight away.

**Yeah. He isn't home yet, thankfully, but he wants me to go through some stuff with him when he gets home. I can't wait until I leave this place so I don't have to put up with him anymore. **

**Does he know you'll be leaving with your mom? He might expect you to stay with him. **

**I haven't actually gotten up the courage to tell him yet, no. And I still need to tell him that I won't be taking over his business for him. I'm kind of dreading that talk with him.**

Yuki's heart went out to Sasuke and she longed to wrap him in her arms. He never mentioned it—never let it affect him when he was at school—so she never really realised just how bad his father truly was. But she vowed to be there for him, whether he wanted her there or not. Even if it was just to give him a reassuring hug—she didn't think he would appreciate much more than that anyway—to let him know she was on his side.

**You know I'm always here for you if you need me. I might not know what to say to help you but I'm told I give very nice hugs. You know, if you want one.**

It was five minutes later before Yuki received a reply, and she started to wonder if his father had come home and called him away. But finally, she got an answer.

**Thanks. I might take you up on that offer one day.**

* * *

Sasuke stared at his phone for a few minutes, shocked at what he was about to send to his fiery brunette.

**I'll always need you.**

It was as much a revelation to him as it would be to her and he didn't think she would take too kindly to that reply, so decided on a much safer sentence instead. After deleting that alarming revelation, he typed in his new sentence and hit 'send'. He let out a sigh of relief, his heart rate slowly coming down from the hill it decided to ascend to.

A door slammed in the distance and he cringed, knowing it would be his father home. He stood up and made his way to the beast's den where he knew his father would already be, whiskey in hand. Knocking on the door, Sasuke peered in, stiffening in the presence of his father.

"Finally. Hurry up and shut the door. I can hear your mother crying in the kitchen again and it's disturbing my peace."

Sasuke did as he was told, willing a scowl not to cross his features. _Yuki,_ he thought as he took a seat in front of the devil, _I might need that hug sooner than I thought._

* * *

**I was practically tearing my hair out with this chapter. I just couldn't get it to work for me. And yes, I know Sasuke seems OOC in the texts, but I think it ****_IS_**** easier to talk via text so that's why he's more open. If they were face-to-face he would more than likely shut her out. Again. I'm not 100% happy with this chapter but I hope you still liked it nonetheless.**

**Rates and Reviews are loved and make me super duper happy!**


	13. Of Revelations and Surprises

**Another chapter so soon, you ask? Why yes indeed! **

* * *

The weeks flew by and even though Yuki and Sasuke didn't have any excuse to go out for coffee anymore it seemed like an unspoken tradition now between them. Almost every day after school Sasuke would drive them both to the café down the road and they would spend the next hour eating muffins, sipping their coffee—hot chocolate for Yuki—and talking. They also continued to text each other almost every day. Yuki found that the young Uchiha was quite funny when he wanted to be and many of his messages made her laugh out loud.

**Naruto wants us to wear matching suits for the prom. **Sasuke messaged three weeks later on the Saturday morning. The two boys had decided to hang out at Naruto's place, and despite Sasuke's initial grumbling, she knew he had been looking forward to it, especially with his parents' divorce soon to be finalised.

Yuki ginned to herself, imagining the kind of hellish suit Naruto would pick for them. **That sounds like fun. Get Kiba to join you and you could be the Three Stooges. **

**I believe he was thinking more along the lines of the Musketeers.**

**Too bad for him then. You'll definitely look like idiots. **

**Thanks. That's so kind of you.**

She snorted, her grin widening. **Hey, you don't have to get sarcastic with me. I'm only trying to help.**

**Uh huh. Your definition of help needs rendering. **

**Haha. I'm going to stop texting you so you can enjoy your manly bonding time with your bestie. Have fun!**

**Now I know you're making fun of me. Aren't you meant to be spending the day shopping with the girls? **

**Why yes I am, so I'd appreciate it if you would stop distracting me. Ciao Sasuke. **

**Sayonara Kitten. **

Yuki pouted, her fingers ready to send a snappy retort back when her phone was plucked out of her hand.

Tenten looked at her, an eyebrow raised and smirk in place. "Stop flirting with Sasuke already. Did you even hear the conversation we were having?" The trio were currently seated at the food court, having decided to take a break from their rigorous shopping expedition to replenish their energy before continuing on.

Her face flushed and she gave her friend a mock glare. "We weren't flirting!"

Tenten just stared at her, unconvinced. "Sure you weren't. So, what do you think then?"

"What do I think about what?" Yuki asked, picking up a fry to nibble on the end as she eyed her phone, contemplating how to get it back from the stronger female.

"I told you you weren't listening! We were talking about prom! It's coming up so quickly, we'll need to start looking for dresses soon." She looked absolutely thrilled, which surprised Yuki. Tenten had never been too interested in dresses—she had never been interested in fashion at all, being the tomboy that she was—but she seemed to glow with excitement at the mention of the upcoming prom.

"Oh? And why are _you_ so excited for prom, hm?" Yuki questioned, intent on teasing her athletic friend. "Did a certain someone ask you to go with them?"

"N-No!" Tenten blushed deeply. "Not yet anyway. But I'm hoping." She finished in a whisper, her eyes dropping to the table between them.

"I'm sure he will Tenten." Hinata replied, a warm smile on her lips.

Yuki nodded her assent. "Yeah, me too. And Hinata, has Naruto asked you yet?"

"No. I th-thought he would have already but… but m-maybe I was overthinking things. H-He's been a little quiet towards me these last c-couple of weeks. I-I'm beginning to think that k-k-kiss didn't mean anything to him." Hinata looked so upset and both Yuki and Tenten reached out to hold her hands.

"Oh Hinata, maybe he's just been busy lately." Tenten tried to reassure the young Hyuga. "He wouldn't kiss you if he didn't mean it, I'm sure."

Yuki on the other hand was too angry for words. She had warned the blonde idiot of the consequences and what does he go and do? _I'm going to kill him. _She seethed inwardly. _No. I'm going to gut him and skewer him. Then I'll kill him._

"O-Ouch, Yuki y-you're hurting my h-hand." Hinata said with a wince. Yuki loosened her grip immediately, apologising. Hinata gave her a curious look. "Are you okay?"

Yuki smiled sheepishly at her friends. "Sorry. I was too busy thinking how I should torture that idiot for hurting you."

"P-please don't h-hurt him Yuki. Like Tenten said, he might be busy at the m-moment." Lavender eyes stared at her, pleading her not to hurt her beloved Naruto.

Yuki relented, expelling a long-suffering sigh. "Fine. I'll give him another week. If he doesn't ask you by then I'll beat him up for you."

Hinata smiled. "O-okay. But don't hurt him too much."

"Wait! Why don't you get on your high-horse on my account? Neji hasn't asked me either, you know." Tenten stated, her hands resting on her hips as she frowned at Yuki.

The brunette held up placating hands in front of her, once again looking sheepish. "Sorry Tenten, I didn't realise you wanted me to. I just thought, since he hasn't done anything like kiss you yet, he wouldn't hurt you." Tenten's frown disappeared and she flushed, reaching for her drink to try and hide it. "He _hasn't_ kissed you yet. Has he?" When Tenten ignored her question, her sip turning into multiple gulps, Yuki narrowed her eyes. "_Tenten. _Tell me he hasn't kissed you yet. Because if he has and you've hidden it from us then I will be thoroughly upset."

Finally Tenten placed her drink back on the table, so hard some of the liquid splashed over the side, wetting her hand. "Okay, I'm sorry! Are you happy? I'm sorry I didn't tell you that he kissed me! Multiple times. I just… I don't know. I just wanted it to be a secret between the two of us for a little while. It seemed more thrilling that way, like we could get caught at any time. Please don't be mad! I promise I'll never hide something like that from you again!"

The two friends were stunned into silence for a good ten seconds before Yuki blurted out, "_Multiple times! _Just how long has this been going on for?"

"Um, since the night we went bowling?"

"That long ago, seriously?" Yuki was getting over her surprise and started to get mad again.

"Well, maybe a little bit before that. When we first started out English assignment together. But we didn't kiss that time, just… kind of had a moment." She looked apologetic and reached out for Yuki's hand. "Please don't get angry Yuki."

"Angry? Oh I'm way beyond angry. I am absolutely furious!" Yuki replied, enraged at what she was hearing.

"Y-Yuki, don't be mad please." Hinata said, trying to calm her friend down. "She's sorry."

"How can I not be mad? They've been stealing kisses for almost _two months_ now and he _still _hasn't asked her out! I'm going to have to kill him as well! I swear, are all men idiots? They must seriously be the dumbest creatures on this planet!"

Tenten blinked her surprise at Yuki's outburst. "So… you aren't angry with me?"

"With you? Of course not! I could never be mad at you, no matter what I say otherwise. Believe it or not, I understand your reasoning for keeping it a secret. Though it still stings a little that you didn't tell us, I'm not mad at you. No, it's Neji that I'm angry at. How dare he string you along without committing?"

A laugh bubbled up inside Tenten and she let it out, both relieved that her friend wasn't mad at her and amused at Yuki's protectiveness towards her two best friends. "It's okay Yuki. I'll talk to him first. And if he decides that he doesn't want to go to prom with me then I'll hit him myself."

Yuki grinned at her, giving her hand a squeeze. "And I'll support you all the way."

They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes before Tenten spoke up, a sly grin on her lips. "We still haven't heard about your date for the prom." She stated, looking pointedly at Yuki.

The brunette coughed in surprise, choking on her drink. "I don't have a date to prom."

"Yet." Tenten shot her a knowing look that Yuki decided to ignore as she reached for her drink again, sipping at it more cautiously this time.

"Do you think Sasuke will ask you?" Hinata piped up, her eyes glowing with keen interest in the subject.

Giving up on being a cautious drinker—she had choked on it again from Hinata's question—she pushed her cup to the edge of the table, glaring at the offending object. "Why would he? We're friends. I'm happy with that."

"You're a horrible liar." Tenten commented, rolling her eyes. "Who would have thought you would fall for the great Sasuke Uchiha?"

Yuki glared at Tenten, suddenly not in the mood for talking. "I haven't fallen for him. I just like him a little bit, that's all."

"Do you think about him a lot?" Hinata asked.

"Well yeah. I guess so."

"And you've been texting each other an awful lot lately." Tenten added slyly.

"Friends are allowed to text each other." Yuki shot back.

"And y-you go out for coffee almost e-every afternoon after school."

Yuki shot Hinata a look. "You sure are having a lot of fun with this interrogation, aren't you?"

The young Hyuga laughed prettily. "I am actually. We don't get to do this to you much."

The brunette grumbled, folding her arms in front of her defensively. "I know I told you before that I like Sasuke but I definitely have not fallen for him."

"Okay then. Tell us how he makes you feel then."

Yuki threw up her arms in defeat before settling back in her defensive position. "I don't know… I used to hate the guy but then when I did that English assignment with him… He was actually a nice guy. Still a jerk but I realised that's just the front he puts on so people don't get too close. But he's actually really great. He's an actual gentleman, believe it or not, and he cares for his friends in his own mean kind of way. And he's really sweet." A smile made its way on Yuki's lips, unbeknownst to her. "Like he'll go out of his way to buy me muffins when I'm sick or when he's apologising for something. And he can be really gentle too." She stopped talking, slowly noting her two friends' expressions. Hinata was gazing at her dreamily as she listened whilst Tenten was looking triumphant.

"See? That right there, you just explained all the things you love about Sasuke." She remarked, grinning a Cheshire cat's grin.

Yuki sputtered out a weak denial, her face heating with embarrassment. She thought about it as she took another sip of her drink. All the times they had talked, both in person and through text messages. She recalled times when she had felt the urge to reach out and touch him, and remembered how it made her feel happy and content when she complied with that need. Yuki gasped, realisation finally hitting her. She had gotten closer to Sasuke over such a long period of time that it didn't register in her heart that she had actually fallen for him. As irritating as he was at times she was…

"Oh my gosh! I'm in love with him." She breathed, her hands covering her gaping mouth. "I-I'm in love with Sasuke Uchiha."

Tenten reached over to pat her shoulder. "Don't look so mortified Yuki. It's a good thing."

"Is it though? He's so hard to handle. He goes from happy to P.M.S'ing in the blink of an eye. Half the time I still want to smack him across the head for being a jerk. I don't even think he feels the same way. There have been moments when I thought he was about to kiss me but nothing ever happened. What if I was just reading the mood wrong? I'm not experienced in this kind of thing, I've never been in love before. What if one day he leans in to pick lint off my shoulder and I read the mood wrong and kiss him? He'll think I'm crazy! I can't. No, I can't do this. How am I supposed to talk to him now? I don't think—_Cold!_ What the hell Tenten?" Yuki gasped as the chilled water ran down the front of her shirt, soaking her.

Tenten shrugged, unapologetic. "I'm sorry but you were freaking out. It had to be done. Although you might want to change your shirt now, it's a bit see-through."

Yuki didn't hear what she said after the first sentence, too shocked and cold to register anything else. "I wasn't freaking out!"

"Y-you were freaking out a little bit." The quiet Hyuga insisted, her lips fighting off a smile as she tried to look concerned.

Tenten pinned the brunette with a look, holding her gaze. "Look Yuki, we understand why you're feeling scared about this. But honestly, you don't need to freak out. Both Hinata and I have liked people that don't know and we can still be ourselves around them—more or less—so don't stress. Just talk to him the way you normally would. Don't overthink things or you seriously will freak out."

Yuki let out a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Okay, alright. I can do this. Just act normally around him. How hard can it be?"

"How hard can what be?" A new voice asked, causing Yuki's heart to stutter in her chest before kick-starting at a furious pace. How had she not noticed this feeling whenever she heard his voice before now?

She spun around in her chair, taking him in in a way she had never done before. He was magnificent—a truly beautiful person. With his obsidian eyes framed by unruly raven locks, he really did look like a prince from a fairy tale. A swarm of butterflies invaded her stomach at the sight of him and her throat suddenly felt parched.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

* * *

**I wanted to have the next scene with this chapter but I just couldn't seem to stop writing this scene! So here you go, I hope it was to your liking. To be honest, I was tossing up whether or not I wanted her to realise she loved Sasuke yet or wait until after the thing I have planned comes to fruition, but in the end the scene veered this way so it ended up coming out. **

**Again, there were bits in this chapter I am not fully happy with but for the most part I really enjoyed it. I hope you do to! **

**Rates and Reviews are loved! **

**Seriously guys, your reviews for the last chapter made me so super happy I was grinning all day, so thank you so much! Keep it up and I might have the next chapter out sooner than you think. :D**


	14. Of Shopping Days and Fighting Friends

**I promised (in another set of stories) that I'd try and get this chapter up by the end of this week. I just made it! This was another really frustrating chapter to write but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :D**

* * *

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Yuki asked, eyes wide with shock at seeing him. _He isn't meant to be here! _She freaked internally. _Isn't he meant to be at Naruto's house doing boy stuff? _

"We were bored and Naruto decided to come see what you girls were up to." Sasuke replied, shrugging as if it was of no concern to him. He took her in then, his face slowly turning a light shade of pink before he averted his eyes, refusing to look at her again.

"You wanted to come too Sasuke! Don't try and act cool." Naruto replied loudly, peering over his shoulder before moving to stand beside the Uchiha. He grinned at Hinata before looking at Yuki, his eyes slowly bulging in his head. "Ah Yuki, your shirt is sort of. Eh, well it's kind of…" He flushed a deep red, unable to turn away.

"Don't look idiot!" Sasuke hissed, hitting the blonde hard across the head. He unzipped his jacket and thrust it in the confused brunette's hands. "Put it on already. Your shirt is see-through." He turned his back to her again, pinching the bridge of his nose as though looking at her pained him.

Yuki glanced down at herself, finally seeing the damage Tenten's water throwing had caused. The front of her white shirt was completely soaked and it stuck to her body, her pink and white polka dot bra clearly visible underneath. She gasped loudly, her arms automatically moving to cover her chest.

She shoved her arms through the jacket and zipped it up to her neck, mortified that the boys were here to witness this turn of events. She pleaded silently that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. It would be a better option than facing the boys again. Sasuke still had his back turned while Naruto was looking everywhere but at her, his eyes darting around the room nervously.

Finally, Tenten decided to save Yuki from further humiliation. "Do you boys realise that we're still shopping? If you plan to hang around with us for the afternoon you'll have to be prepared to do a lot of waiting around while we try on clothes. If that's not your thing than please kindly go away and do something else."

Naruto snapped out of his nervous eye-darting and he walked around to pull a seat up beside Hinata. "We don't mind hanging around with you for a while. If we get too bored then we'll leave but for now it sounds like fun. Right Sasuke?" He finished, sending a quick grin in the Hyuga's direction, eliciting a blush from her.

"Hn," The young Uchiha replied. He turned back around to the group but still couldn't look Yuki in the eye, though it didn't stop him from pulling up a seat next to her.

Tenten sighed in annoyance. "What don't you understand about a girls day out? As in _girls only._"

"But we're already here. We may as well tag along." The blonde haired teen whined, pouting.

Yuki managed to lift her head out of her shame to look at the boy sitting across from her, only because he was starting to annoy her. "Fine, you can tag along. But if you annoy us then you're gone."

Naruto grinned in response. "I'll be so quiet you won't even know I'm here."

* * *

The five teenagers made their way through the shopping mall, taking their time to look into different clothes and shoe stores. Yuki and Tenten had made a silent pact with each other to take as long as possible in the hopes that the two boys would get bored and excuse themselves, but as of yet they weren't having any luck. Naruto was quite happy walking beside Hinata, chattering away incessantly while the young Hyuga listened with flushed cheeks. And Sasuke… Well, Sasuke seemed content to just walk beside Yuki as she made her way from store to store.

"That would look so cute on you." Tenten exclaimed, walking over to Yuki with a pair of shorts in her hands.

Yuki held out the spaghetti strapped top she had been looking at and grinned at her friend. "Thanks Tenten. That would look perfect with this. What do you think Sasuke?" She asked, turning to the raven haired teen beside her, her smile teasing.

"Hn," Was all he replied, he didn't bother glancing at the articles of clothing, just gave her a look that seemed to say 'do you _really _want me to grace that with an answer?' Yuki just chuckled, having expected that kind of reaction. She left Sasuke standing beside the singlets rack and slowly made her way around the store, picking up items here and there that she wanted to try on. At the end of her perusal she had in her hands two pairs of shorts, three singlet tops, a pair of navy skinny jeans and an adorable floral sundress.

She was making her way to the fitting room when Tenten came up to her, looking apologetic. "Sorry Yuki but I forgot that I needed to get something for my mother while we were shopping today. I was going to get it now, since I didn't find anything for myself here. Do you mind?"

"Of course I don't mind." Yuki replied with a smile. "If we've left the store by the time you've finished then I'll text you."

Tenten looked relieved at her answer, though a sudden spark lit her eyes briefly. "Thanks, I'll see you a little later."

Yuki hadn't even taken five steps before Hinata walked over to her. "Naruto wants to go get something to eat and asked if I could go with him. Do you mind?"

_Weren't we just having lunch before? _Yuki wondered to herself., inwardly sighing. _He could have gotten something then. _"Of course you can go Hinata. You don't need to ask my permission."

Hinata looked a little guilty and she started wringing her hands together in front of her. "I was just wondering because you won't have anyone to see you try on your clothes."

Yuki grinned at her friend. "Sasuke's still here. I'm sure I can make him suffer through me trying them on."

Sasuke, who had since came over to the duo to stand next to Yuki, turned to her with a raised eyebrow, as if to say 'you did _not_ just volunteer me for this?'. Yuki's grin widened and she patted the Uchiha on the back comfortingly.

"It's fine, it's fine. Go with Naruto." Yuki said, shooing the young Hyuga away.

Hinata smiled broadly at the couple. "Thank you. You have fun too."

"And then there were two." Yuki mused, turning around with her hands still laden with clothes to find the fitting rooms. "I think there is a couch near the changing area if you want to take a seat." She told Sasuke. "And I was kidding before. Of course you don't have to watch me try on my new clothes."

"I don't mind." Sasuke replied. "You need someone to tell you if they look good or not, don't you? I'll do it."

Yuki looked at him wide eyed for a second before she burst out laughing. "Did you really just volunteer to critique my clothes for me?" Really, he cracked her up sometimes.

Sasuke shot her a dark look for laughing at him. "Your friends aren't here to do it so that only leaves me."

"Alright, alright. If you insist, I'll show you the outfits." Yuki walked into the changing stall, glancing back at Sasuke sitting on the couch, causing her to break out into another fit of giggles. She shook her head, locking the door behind her.

She chose the dark pair of denim shorts with the orange patterned spaghetti strapped singlet. After wiggling into the shorts and throwing the shirt over her head, she opened the door for Sasuke to inspect her choice.

"No." Was his immediate reply as he took her in, eyes giving her a once over before returning to her face and glaring at her. "Definitely not."

"Why not? Yuki asked, giving a little twirl. "It's so cute. At least the shorts are good, right?"

"No, especially the shorts."

Yuki pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "What's so bad about them Mr. Fashion Guru?"

"They're too short." Sasuke replied, still sending her his signature glare.

Yuki threw her hands up in exasperation. "They're called shorts for a reason! They are supposed to be short."

"I don't like them."

The two teens had a stare down before Yuki growled angrily. "Fine. What about the shirt then?"

"Too much skin. You need a shirt that covers your shoulders."

Yuki stared at the Uchiha, deadpan. "Really? Are you saying I have bad shoulders?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. "No that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying you should cover them up."

"That's practically a nice way of saying I have bad shoulders!" Yuki groaned in frustration and stomped back to the fitting room stall. "Well I better not try on the other shorts I liked, seeing as though _somebody _is apparently allergic to skin." She raised her voice so Sasuke could hear her and all but tore her clothes off in her annoyance at him.

The next outfit was the black skinny jeans with a black and white shirt—yes it covered her shoulders—that had a belt attached to it. She really liked this outfit—it wasn't too casual and would be perfect for a first date. _If I ever go on one._ She sighed.

"You better not criticize this outfit or I'll hit you." Yuki announced as she unlocked the door and stepped out of the stall. Sasuke took a longer time perusing her from head to toe—no doubt trying to find skin so he could fault the outfit—and finally settled back to her face.

"That's better." He said with a nod.

"That's it? No 'I like it because' statements?" Yuki let out a sigh. "You really need to learn how to give advice when a girl is trying on clothes. You're terrible."

"I'm a guy. What did you expect?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and sat back on the couch. He waved her away with one hand. "Next."

"Remind me never to take you shopping again." Yuki called once she was in the fitting room and trying on her last outfit. The dress fit snugly around her figure and she immediately fell in love with it. _This would be perfect at the beach. _She thought almost giddily, already decided on buying it.

"No." Sasuke said forcefully as soon as he saw her.

Yuki glared at him, becoming increasingly angry the more Sasuke opened up his mouth. "It's my favourite and I'm buying it whether you like it or not."

Sasuke returned her glare. "No you are not. It's too short and I can see your shoulders. So no."

"Would you have me walk around in a brown paper bag if you had your way? That's ridiculous! I like it so I'm buying it."

"Yeah you like it, but so will every guy that sees you in it!"

"Except for you apparently!" She snapped angrily.

"I never said I didn't like it!" Sasuke retorted.

"Really? Because that's how it sounds like to me!"

"Well that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

Sasuke sighed in frustration, shaking his head. "Forget it. It doesn't matter."

"Don't you dare! You aren't allowed to just shrug it off like that. Tell me what you meant by it."

He sent a glare her way, his anger coming off of him in waves. "I told you it doesn't matter. Just drop it."

"Whatever!" Yuki slammed the door of her changing cubicle and once again proceeded to rip off the dress. She shoved her clothes back on, gathered the outfits in her arms and took a deep breath. Yes she was mad at Sasuke for being a jerk—_again—_but she had to be the bigger person. _I should be used to his mood swings by now. _Resolved to pretend the fight never happened, she opened the latch and made her way out of the stall. After hanging up the clothes she wasn't getting, she made her way to the register to purchase the ones she wanted.

"You're still buying the dress." Sasuke commented as he walked beside her, giving her a weird look as if to ask why she wasn't still yelling at him.

"Yes I am. And I'm buying the dark denim shorts too." Yuki replied loftily. She placed the clothes on the counter, ignoring the glare Sasuke sent her way.

After her purchase, she thanked the lady and made her way out of the store, still ignoring the boy next to her. After walking around the shopping complex aimlessly for ten minutes Sasuke finally let out a loud sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. Can you please just get over it so we can be normal again?"

Yuki stopped in her tracks, her eyes thinning to slits as she turned to glower at him. "Just get _over_ it? Did you really just say that to me? Wow Sasuke, you have _no _idea how to apologise to a girl, do you?"

Sasuke had kept walking and was a few steps in front of her before stopping and turning to face her, arms crossed. "I don't need to apologise. I didn't do anything wrong."

She sputtered, choking out a laugh. "_Didn't do anything wrong? _Oh this just gets better and better. Are you really that stupid Sasuke?"

Charcoal eyes glowered at her for calling him stupid. "You're overreacting. You were the one that asked me to give my opinion on your clothes and that is what I did. There was no need for you to get angry at me."

"No need?" Yuki felt like a parrot, repeating everything Sasuke was saying, but it was just so mind boggling. Did he seriously think she would be okay with his comments? Did he expect her to say "Thank you for your input Sasuke. I'll never wear shorts or singlets ever again." Because that was _so _not going to happen.

"You have a long way to go before you understand a girl's feelings." She turned away from the young Uchiha, deciding it was time to find the others so they could go home. She was too angry to spend any more time in Sasuke's company.

A hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged her back around to face a frustrated Sasuke. "Then tell me why you are so angry, because obviously I don't understand!" He demanded, reaching up to rub his temple with his free hand.

Yuki yanked her arm away from him, taking a step back from him as the urge to cry suddenly overtook her. "If you don't know why I'm mad right now then I'm not going to tell you." She took another step back, stamping down on the oncoming tears. _Where did they come from all of a sudden?_ She held up her hand to stop Sasuke's advance towards her, shaking her head. "Don't. I can't do this right now. I need to go." With that, she turned her back on the raven haired teen, walking away quickly and hoping he wouldn't follow. The tears wouldn't hold out for much longer and she didn't want him near her when they started to fall. She sent a quick text to her two girlfriends telling them she was going to the restroom and that her mum would take her home. Then she called her mother, asking her to pick her up as soon as she could. After that was all taken care of, Yuki locked herself in a toilet cubicle and let the tears fall until her mother texted that she was in the parking lot.

Yuki wiped her swollen eyes and slowly made her way out of the cubicle. She splashed water on her face but after deciding she still looked like a drowned puppy she decided to slip on her sunglasses before heading out of the restroom. Thankfully, she didn't meet with anyone she knew and she made it to the car where her mother was waiting without incident.

"Are you alright dear?" She asked, concern lacing her voice. "You didn't get into a fight with Tenten or Hinata did you?"

Yuki shook her head, sniffling. "No mom. Can we please just go home?"

Once home her mom made her daughter a cup of hot cocoa and settled on the couch beside her. "You know you can tell me anything, right? If something is bothering you I'm here if you want to talk about it." She smiled warmly, brushing Yuki's bangs away from her forehead.

"I know mom. But this is… it's complicated." Yuki replied, gripping her hot drink tightly as she gazed at the chocolaty goodness inside.

"Is it boy trouble?"

Yuki's eyes snapped up and she stared at her mother. "How did you know?"

She laughed, patting her daughter's cheek lovingly. "Oh Honey. What else could it be about? Is it that boy that came over that time when you were sick?"

Yuki kept her eyes downcast, embarrassed with the turn of the conversation. She had never had boy troubles before and didn't know what to say to her mother about it. "Um, yeah." She glanced up again at her mother's kind face and felt like crying all over again. "I'm sorry mom, I really don't feel like talking about it. I want to go to bed."

The older woman's smile was sad this time as she hugged Yuki close to her briefly. "Alright sweetie. But I'm here if you want to talk."

"I know. I love you mom." Yuki kissed her on the cheek before retreating to her bedroom, hot chocolate left on the coffee table downstairs. She flopped onto her bed, exhausted at how the day had turned out and feeling more than a little sorry for herself. She didn't know why she was so upset about her argument with Sasuke but every time she thought about it her heart would clench in pain. Yuki buried her face in her pillow to smother the sob that wrenched through her suddenly. She stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon until she eventually fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

**What in the world happened with this chapter?! O.o It was actually supposed to be a really cute chapter with Sasuke and Yuki but for some reason my brain wouldn't co-operate with me to write it and this came out instead. I'm not too fussed with it but as long as you enjoy it as the reader then I'll be happy. :D And grrr, I'm so bad at writing endings to chapters. Like seriously, why is it so hard? :/**

**Tbh, I really want to give a name to Yuki's mom, so I don't have to keep writing 'her mother' all the time but I didn't think of it at the start of the story and I think it would be a bit weird if I suddenly gave a name to her halfway through the story... Ah well..**

**Rates and Reviews are loved. They help me push on with this story. :) 3**


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